Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
by Syynistyre
Summary: His sister may have been given the Kyuubi, but armed with Namikaze Minato's greatest sealing masterpiece, Uzumaki Naruto will carve his way through the shinobi world- one body at a time.
1. Adaption

**Guess whose still lurking about ? Yep, this guy. I, Syynistyre, formerly Syynex, have, at long last, returned. Rejoice! Now, I'll end this here so you can get on to my newest creation. Enjoy ^_^**

* * *

The excitement in the air rang more clearly than the academy bell ever could have as countless students raced out from their first day, eager to tell parents and siblings about what they had and would learn under the tutelage of experienced Chuunin instructors. At the front of this great mass, one boy stood out most prominently. His bright red hair- reaching his shoulders- was an oddity in the village of Konohagakure, shared by only one other inhabitant. Skin, more pale than the glowing moon, carried an ethereal quality that hinted at him being more a lost spirit than a being of flesh and blood. His eyes, however, were probably the feature that most took notice of – bright pools of amethyst that seemed to shine with the light of a million stars. He was well enough known in this village, a reminder of the great Kyuubi no Kitsune's attack eight years ago. He was one of only two children born that day and by far the one that seemed most unnatural. There was no doubt that he had been born as an omen, or even that his birth had been the cause of the Kyuubi's attack, drawing the great beast to their village.

The wounds remained painfully fresh within them all.

The boy, unfortunately, was ignorant to the memories and horror he invoked within his fellow villagers and instead looked eagerly about the open field for his mother and sister- the centers of his tiny universe. Confusion seeped into him as the seconds ticked by without any sign of them. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes into nearly an hour. The field was long since emptied and he stood alone in the dying light of the evening sun.

"Naruto?" he turned to whoever had called his name, only to be met with the sight of his instructor Umino Iruka. The Chuunin held within his hands a small stack of papers and had obviously just left the building to head home for the night. Frowning, the man looked down at Naruto in concern.

"Where's your mother?" Asked Iruka "Or Yuuhi-san? Surely she'd have sent her old student to pick you up if she was unable to?"

"I- I don't know. I thought they'd be here." It was barely a whisper, but Iruka heard the last part clearly enough. "They promised."

* * *

The sun had long since set, the full moon taking overthrowing it and taking the kingdom of heaven for itself. Sitting upon its midnight throne, it gazed down upon the young boy traversing the streets, bathing him in its illuminant radiance.

What boy could have been wandering the streets of the clan district by the light of the moon? Red hair easily answered as Uzumaki Naruto, son of Kushina and suspected son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato, as he made his way home. Iruka had been kind enough to take him out for a bowl of ramen to make up for the fact that no one had come for him. Feeling quite a bit better with a belly full of hot noodley goodness, he had thanked his new sensei, bid him farewell, and made his way home.

Coming to the gate that bore the traditional Uzumaki spiral, he couldn't help but feel that something was off. Shrugging away the uncomfortable feeling, he pressed onwards, placing his hand upon the door so that it could recognize his chakra.

It didn't.

Ice formed within his chest, a hollow horror that seeped into his entire being. He hoped he was wrong after a small jolt of pain had been sent up his arm, a warning to those who did not have permission to enter the compound. You would only ever receive one warning. Just as the seals stored signatures that were allowed onto the property, they also stored the signatures of those who tried to gain access without permission. If the small pulse of chakra it forcefully pushed back into your chakra system wasn't deterrent enough, it would unleash a much larger amount on any subsequent attempts.

The larger pulse wasn't just plain chakra either. For years, both Mito and Kushina had siphoned off small amounts of the Kyuubi's chakra into the matrix. At this point in time, Naruto knew that there had to be at least three full tails of corrosive chakra stored, waiting to lash out the second it was given a target.

Three tails of the Kyuubi's chakra would probably be the equivalent to the Gobi- instant death. Luckily for those like himself, looking to push their luck and hoping against hope that they would be recognized, it did not release it all at once. A tenth of a tail (or approximately one seventh of the Gobi) would be released. It was by no means safe, but it wasn't instant death, at least. Silver linings, right?

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to test his Uzumaki luck. This was stupid. He knew it was stupid. But he really didn't have any other option. He didn't have any friends to stay with, he didn't know where Kurenai lived, the lights in the compound were out- though suspiciously early at that-, and he really didn't want to sleep out here during a cold autumn night. Steeling his resolve, he once more touched the gate.

Pain flooded his small body.

Like acid it spread, a ravenous beast that devoured everything it encountered as it coursed through his veins. He was aware of screaming- his own, most likely- but he felt an odd detachment from the sound that failed to invoke any recognition within his heart. No, there was no time for such trivial things when he was busy feeling his innards liquefy and weakened bones shatter under the unexpected strain of melted muscle. The smell of burning flesh assaulted his nose as his skin shriveled away and the taste of his own blood filled his mouth.

Perhaps he should have slept outside tonight instead, taking chances with the freezing temperature Hi no Kuni's autumn nights were known for. A slow death by freezing would have been preferable to this, as would have been the wild animals that prowled the edge of the village- such as the clan compounds- during the night, a natural defense that had stopped its share of foreign Shinobi attempting to sneak into the village.

His head began to feel light as darkness grasped for him, numbing the fiery agony and leaving instead a biting cold that twisted at his struggling heart and threatened to smother his soul in oblivion. The last thing he was aware of before he sunk into the cold waters of nothingness's embrace was a seal on his right arm glowing an angry red and a single voice filled with distress echoing in his mind.

" _ **Naruto!"**_

* * *

' _It's weird,'_ He thought, staring at his right arm. _'To think I would only learn of their departure after lying alone in the hospital for a week._ '

Indeed, it was only yesterday, his seventh day recovering from the rejection of the clan compound, that he had learned that both his mother and sister had left the village on 'Clan business' for an indeterminate amount of time. He had tried many times to distract himself from thoughts of their departure, but it was futile. In the end, his thoughts always made their way to them, the two suns that sat in the center of his universe.

No.

Had sat.

They were gone now.

Either the suns had left or while orbiting them he had shot off into the darkness of space, lost from their comforting light- he didn't know what explanation he would prefer.

' _Well, that explains why Naruko didn't come with me to the academy today. I should have found that odd considering how much she wants to be a shinobi.'_

Trying once again to rid his mind of such thoughts, he resumed his staring, trying to decipher the markings on his arm despite not having been trained in seals. _No, that's what Kaa-san's going to be going over with Naruko while they're gone.'_

He let out a quick curse he had heard one of Kurenai's friends say as his mind was brought to them once more. It was slightly easier to distract himself with his next thought, but that did precious little to make himself feel better.

' _Where is Kurenai-Nee anyway? Surely she'd have come to check on me at the very least, and I'd have expected my mother to leave me in her care if she knew she was leaving for what may prove to be several years.'_ A deep sigh was let out. _'Even if she was assigned to watch me, I'm not sure she'd be happy about it. She's not all that fond of Naruko, but she doesn't really try to hide it when it comes to me.'_

It wasn't hard to see that she hated him, and he really couldn't blame her. The red-eyed woman saw his mother as her own, and with the birth of him and his twin she had lost most of Kushina's attention. She disliked them for that, but made an effort to be polite with his sister, whom she hoped to mold into her own sister- or perhaps even daughter. You really couldn't tell with that woman. It didn't help his case that not only did he have the facial features of his father- her own father figure- but he was, like his father, male. Kurenai had always had trouble with men, never feling sfae or comfortable in their presence, and to her he was no different, despite resembling his father to such a degree.

She had only ever felt comfortable with Minato, and it probably wouldn't be to far off to assume she had harbored feelings for the older man. In fact, the fact that he reminded her of the love interest she lost wouldn't give him any points in her book either. Hell, with his absolute lack of Uzumaki Luck, he wouldn't be surprised if she felt his very existence was mocking her, taking from her everything she held precious in her life.

In that case, maybe it was better if they didn't interact, especially with his mother and sister gone. She really only ever tried for their sakes, without them their interactions could quickly sour. So, for both of their sakes, and the sakes of Naruko and Kushina, mutual avoidance should prove the best course of action.

Using his left hand, he gently massaged the bridge of his nose. Thoughts like this were getting him nowhere. His arm captured his attention again, drawing a frown. The seal itself, evidently, had already been there, rather than being a result of the compound's gate. However, the gate had made it visible. It probably would have appeared had he ever focused on it, but he had been completely unaware of its existence. Channeling large amounts of chakra was almost guaranteed to reveal the presence of a seal, even those that sealed chakra. He had never actually tried channeling large amounts of chakra to his arms for any reason, so it was understandable that he hadn't come to know of it that way.

The two questions left, then, were 'what was it' and 'who knew of it'? The acting Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had seemed surprised by it, saying it resembled something he had seen before and then proceeded to excuse himself, no doubt to try to figure out what it was that had appeared upon his flesh. At this point, all they knew was that it was somehow connected to the Shinigami's curse mark, which was on the left side of his chest.

Considering that fact, it was likely related to the sealing of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, which currently resided within the Eight Trigram Seal on his sister's abdomen. Known to most within the village, his sister served as the cage for the mighty Biju. Known to far fewer, he was the warden. The seal on his sister was not so much a seal as it was a pocket dimension anchored to this world by her chakra system, keeping the Kyuubi somewhere they could watch over it. It was the curse mark on his chest that was the seal in this case, keeping the giant fox within that dimension using the power of the Shinigami who had branded him with its touch.

But this new seal was somehow connected to it, and he wasn't' sure why. His first thought had been that it was the key to the Eight Trigram Seal, but it was known to those fully informed about the sealing that Minato had trusted that to the toad summons of Myōbokuzan. So with that option gone, his second guess had been that it would allow him to siphon some of the Kyuubi's chakra into himself. This would allow him to have a boost in combat, store extra energy for emergencies, or perhaps absorb any chakra his sister began leaking. It was a logical conclusion, especially considering that two days after the accident his healing had rapidly accelerated due to traces of the Kyuubi's chakra supercharging his Uzumaki healing. But even that felt off.

The chakra, for one, did not seem to be originating from this new seal, but rather from the Shinigami's curse mark itself. There was also a…calling….he felt, deep within him, a whispering voice he couldn't fully make out. But he did know that while it wasn't coming from the seal, his seal seamed to react to it. Come to think of it, the voice came from the curse mark, just like the Kyuubi's chakra; could it have been the Kyuubi reaching out to its warden for some reason? It would have to be looked into sometime in the near future. Of course, that begged one final question;

Was this new seal reacting to the Biju, or the seal on his sister?

Or, more importantly-

Why?

* * *

Released from the care of the hospital, Naruto was at a loss as to what to do next. Now, with no friends, no family, ¥2,000, and the clothes that survived his encounter with the clan compound- which amounted to his underwear and pants with only minor rips on the bottom, he was suddenly homeless, hungry, and alone.

He should go to the academy for the rest of the afternoon, but lacking clothes as he was he'd probably be sent back to a home he didn't have. He could try begging, but he was known as the child of Kushina, they'd probably assume he was just trying to get some spending money, so that wouldn't work. Besides, if he remembered anything his mother had ever told him it was that Uzumaki don't beg.

So he'd have to find some way to provide for himself with no skills, little experience doing any sort of work, and without the strength physical labor. Perhaps honest work wasn't an option in this case.

' _No, I'm better than that.'_ He thought, shaking his head, but a small part of him spoke otherwise. _'You're going to be a ninja.'_ It said. _'You might as well get used to dishonest work.'_

' _That's just my hunger talking.'_ Naruto assured himself. He'd figure something out for the short term, and when that was taken care of he'd look towards a long term solution.

Everything would be just fine.

* * *

Too soon, perhaps, he had previously spoken. Now, cloaked in a rough brown piece of fabric with a makeshift scarf hiding his face, he searched for a target. _'I could go directly from the source, take what I need.'_ Mused the redhead. _'Or, I could acquire the means to obtain it elsewhere, reducing the chances of being found out.'_

He sighed. _'I can't believe I only managed two days before being reduced to this.'_ He thought in disgust. Shaking off his self-loathing, he continued to contemplate targets. Hidden as he was, it was unlikely that he would be spotted before he made his move. The shadow of a building covered him as he crouch atop a low roof. More rooms extended above him, meaning passing shinobi would cross right over him, and the roof extended far enough out onto the main road of the Konoha marketplace that people would be hard pressed to make him out so long as they didn't know his location.

' _A shinobi would have plenty of money on them, but chances of me obtaining it and getting away are slim to none. Civilians don't carry much due to the ninja, keeping it safe within banks until required, so I need to find someone who just withdrew from the bank, or someone arrogant enough to think themselves safe.'_

Two and a half hours passed before he spotted a potential mark. The man was not small, a walking mountain of muscle, and he carried himself with confidence. Tattoos covered almost every inch of his visible skin and he seemed quite pleased with himself. A quick glance to the building he had left revealed a bar. _'Drinking? This early? No, not just drinking, must have been gambling in the back.'_

Because Shinobi liked to operate at night, those of ill repute tended to handle their vices during the day. Seeing as it was just before noon, this man was probably finished for the day and ready to enjoy his winnings for the next couple hours before retreating to his den for the night.

Having made up his mind, he carefully stalked his chosen target, careful to stay between the rooftop world of returning shinobi and the occasional guard and the civilian crowds below. He was far too suspicious for either.

' _The red light district, I'm not surprised.'_ Despite the early time of day, the red light district was roaring with activity as the more seedy citizens conducted less than savory business. Seedy citizens like the one he was following and – considering what he was and was going to be doing- he probably fit into that category now too. Fucking fantastic.

His mark approached one of the many provocative women on the street, no doubt looking to enjoy his winnings to the fullest. The woman took a single glance at the amount the man had in his bag before latching onto his arm, more than happy to relieve him of it. This made it a bit harder but at the same time, his target's guard had dropped substantially. He was going to be a shinobi- he could work with this.

After all, it was just a civilian and a soiled dove-

What could go wrong?

* * *

One kunai- an old one at that- was all he had to work with. It would have to suffice. He'd attempt to cut away the bag first, but if that didn't work, he'd stab him and bolt. Hopefully the pain would loosen the man's grip. With a silent prayer to lady luck for good fortune and another to death in hopes of being just as swift and silent, Naruto steeled his nerves and dropped down not two feet from the man as the pair made their way through an alley to a rundown motel located off the main road.

The man proved more aware than he seemed, spinning to face the cloaked brat that had suddenly appeared. Consequently, the bag under his arm was now much more accessible. Lunging for it, Naruto attempted for the straps that had been looped over the man's left shoulder. The man had other plans and the boot Naruto took to the face made it well known.

"Che, damn brat, think you can get the drop on me, huh? I'll teach yas a thing or two!" The man shouted as he moved towards the recovering child. Naruto regained his senses quickly, but evidently it wasn't fast enough. He received a solid fist to his gut for his effort.

' _Shit, this is not going to end well.'_ Grabbing onto the man's arm with one hand, he thanked the gods he had managed to keep a firm grip on his kunai. His first swipe went for the arm, which was ripped back violently, and while the man held his new cut and spewed a string of venomous curses Naruto kept going, lodging his blade within the man's gut.

Unfortunately, it would not be that easy. With a mighty roar, the muscled mountain charged, knocking Naruto into the wall. While it had held thus far, that was the last his disguise could take as his scarf pooled at his feet and his hood was jostled off his head of red hair.

"Huh? The Uzumaki brat? What, did your whore of a mother not give you enough pocket money today, boy?" Asked the giant before spitting at the boy's feet. "Well, it doesn't matter now. You choose poorly when you made me your mark, and you lost any chance of escaping with a good beating and a lesson learned when you lodged this-" He pulled out the kunai and tossed it at Naruto, hitting him in his left shoulder. "In me. Say your prayers, fool, this is your end."

He reached down and plucked him up by the neck, grabbing for the kunai to finish the job. He was ill prepared for the small foot that made contact with his manhood. He dropped the boy with a howl, temporarily falling to his knees, but it was enough time for Naruto to get into a favorable position. With adrenaline pumping through his veins and his life on the line, he didn't hesitate when a voice shouted " _ **End him!"**_

His foot moved in a flash, kicking his scarf back up to him and the boy wasted no time twisting behind and wrapping it around the man's neck, pulling tight. While the man struggled to breathe, the shinobi to be prepared to take his first kill. The kunai came out easily enough, dripping blood all over the ground, but he ignored the throbbing pain the removal brought him and instead helped the kunai further stain the ground.

With one quick move the kunai was plunged through the scarf and into the soft flesh of the man's neck. He died, unable to utter a sound, and a mentally exhausted Naruto momentarily collapsed onto his knees on the back of the corpse. His momentary respite was interrupted by a chocked, panicked sobbing. He let his eyes wander for the source, half on guard and half ready to fall asleep where he kneeled. Considering he was atop a corpse, that was a less than desirable course of action, but he really couldn't find it within him to care.

' _Oh, yeah, forgot about her.'_ The lady of the night- or, rather, in this case, the lady of the late morning, was backed against a wall, tears streaming down her face as she stared at him in fear. Giving a weary sigh, he pulled himself up and picked up his spoils. _'Is this really all that blood is worth?.'_ He wanted to feel bad about what he had just done, but he really couldn't find it within him. _'This world really is kill or be killed'_ He mused, turning away from the woman and starting down the alleyway. _'I need this money, unfortunately, he was in the way.'_

' _She needed that money too.'_ Another part of him reminded him. He paused. Frowning, he looked over his shoulder at the terrified woman. She wasn't gorgeous, especially with the tears streaming down her cheeks and mud covering the clothes she had ripped when she had fallen, but she held a rather plain attractiveness that the eight year old really couldn't deny.

She had blonde hair cut short, probably to make it easier for her to maintain, and vibrant emerald eyes. Judging by the hair color alone, she was probably from the Yamanaka clan. There weren't many within the clans that weren't shinobi, but every so often one would be born that didn't have the desire or aptitude for it. They usually weren't well received by even their own families. It was most likely why this one was working as a prostitute.

Her figure was average, with B-cup breasts and a narrow waist that widened only slightly at her hips. Light skin was fairly clean, or would have been had she not fallen on the muddy ground. She wasn't anything special, but she was certainly good looking enough to distract a man from his worldly woes when in her company.

There was something about her that called to him. He wasn't sure if it was the tears, or the fear her eyes showed. Maybe it was how she was trembling in the mud and grime, but his young heart couldn't help but reach out to her. He saw no reason he shouldn't do the same. Turning back to her he walked until he was standing next to her, gazing down at her trembling form. Kneeling down beside her, he reached into his bag and withdrew what was easily a good ¥90,000.

"Here," He urged. "It's only fair you get a cut, seeing as I killed your client." Now that she knew he meant her no harm, confidence seemed to rush back into her. There was little doubt that she was of Yamanaka blood now.

"What's fair, little one, would be if you replaced my client. I'm not a charity case, you know. I don't accept anything I don't work for." Her voice was surprisingly soft and melodic, but carried an almost haughty tone that momentarily caught him off guard. Regaining his composure he responded as best he could.

"I'm eight."

She laughed.

* * *

Both having agreed to save the conversation for elsewhere, he had given her his makeshift cloak to wipe off as mush mud as she could before throwing it back on, determined to keep his identity hidden. Likewise, the bloodied scarf was once more wrapped around his face, filling his nose with the tang of copper. He ignored it, and instead followed behind the blonde prostitute as she led him to a quaint little restraint that was located off the main road, allowing for a small semblance of privacy as they took a shaded seat at a table in its outside dining area.

Ordering, the two sipped their tea- though Naruto had a bit of trouble when it came to that- and waited in a comfortable silence for the meals to arrive, the bustling of Konoha's nearby market district leaving a pleasant hum in the early afternoon air.

After their meals had been served and eaten the postponed discussion resumed. "As I was saying earlier," Started Naruto. "It's only fair that you get some of the money I stole from your client. By all rights, it was to be yours soon enough."

"And like I said, little shinobi, I didn't actually get a chance to earn that money. If you want me to have it, hire me. Even as young as you are, I know a few ways for us to have a bit of fun." He gave her an odd look in response, prompting another laugh from the woman.

"Look-"He paused, waiting for her name, which she supplied easily enough. "Tatsuki, formerly Yamanaka Tatsuki."

Naruto continued. "Look, Tatsuki-san, we both know you would have earned it and, as you mentioned, I took away your chance to earn it. Consider this your rightful compensation."

"You talk pretty words boy, surprising for someone who claims to be eight," She grinned "But I'm not backing down. If you are so determined to give me a cut, prove it to me, hire me for the day and we can both go our separate ways, satisfied."

He shook his head. "I'm not doing that Tatsuki-san, not now, so, instead, how about we cut a little deal?" Her interest was piqued as she leaned in close, managing to cross most of the small table so that her face was uncomfortably close to his own. Despite having been covered in mud not an hour earlier, she smelled really good.

"What kind of a deal are we talking?"

"Advanced payment." Answered the redhead. "I give you your rightful cut now, and give you a bit more for a reservation. When I'm a bit older, I'll seek you out to claim your services."

Letting a thoughtful frown cross her face, she leaned back and folded her arms under her bust. After a moment she gave him a sultry smirk. "Alright, Kid, I like your style. You've got yourself a deal."

He gave a relieved sigh and withdrew the original ¥90,000 he had been planning to give her before throwing an extra ¥10,000. "Will this be sufficient?" was his inquiry.

Her grin only grew as she quickly counted it for herself. "¥100,000 and I get to do a boy as cute as yourself? I feel like I'm getting the better end of the bargain for the first time in a while."

"Then we have an accord, shall we shake on it?" Something within him felt odd, though not entirely unpleasant, as she gave him a hungry look. She shook her head and gave a laugh that had his heart racing for reasons he couldn't comprehend.

"No, love, I've got a better way to seal our deal." Walking around the table, she pinned down his shoulders and leaned in to capture his lips with her own. After a few moments she pushed further, invading his mouth with her tongue. Pulling back, she kissed his forehead and turned to leave, a breathless Naruto still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"See you around, Naruto-kun, and remember, you get that-" she briefly gestured to her body before continuing. "And so much more when you come find me. Don't keep a girl waiting too long." She gave a last wink before strutting off. He couldn't help but follow the extra sway she put in her hips.

' _Damn…'_ He quickly scowled when he realized she knew his name. _'Must have heard that guy call me Uzumaki. Here I was hoping to keep that a secret, now that she knows my name I probably won't be able to get away with never claiming that night I've reserved. I have a feeling she'd hunt me down and demand I provide the work I've paid her for. Her pride would demand no less.'_

Despite his irritation, he couldn't help but think the last of that fondly. She'd earned a spot on the list of people he liked, he'd enjoy spending time with her as a friend for certain. Of course, she'd never let them be friends until after he had slept with her.

' _Hmph, that would be an odd beginning to a friendship, I'm sure. Then again, if getting her as a friend is the result of a night with her,"_ He gave a grin to the space he had last seen her occupy. _'The thought of getting what I paid for doesn't seem too bad._

The idea of spending a night with the woman didn't feel uncomfortable any longer, but his pants certainly did.


	2. Painful Thoughts

**I'm pleased to know people enjoyed the first chapter and even more pleased to present you all with another. Hopefully this one will answer some of your questions and give you a better perspective on some of the actors who find themselves on my stage.**

 **I received two reviews on the OC, one for and one against, so now I'd really like to hear everyone's opinion on her. She was pretty spur of the moment, and I only recently decided what will happen with her, but I'd like to see what my readers think first. Please include your thoughts with any review you might write or send me a PM containing it.**

 **With nothing left to be said, enjoy the show.**

* * *

The sweet relief that flooded his soul was indescribable, a peace so delicious that he couldn't help but release a short laugh.

' _Not tonight, thank the gods, not tonight.'_

For two weeks his dreams had been plagued by a sky of two suns, glaring down on him as he sunk deep into an ocean of oblivion but **this** , this was different. It was by no means _pleasant,_ but he would take what he could get. He had, for this night alone, escaped the emerald and blue eyes, hair like sunset and hair like noon, skin as soft and pale as clouds, he had been hidden from their visage in this new sanctuary, and for that he was grateful.

Cold, murky water of unsanitary grey splashed around his stationary feet, gently urging him further into this world. With a soft, sad smile, he followed it through the rooms of this flooded basement, along walls of crumbling yellow and under the occasional flickering light or hole to the surface, through which came the occasional scattered sunbeam.

' _It shields me from them, but, undeniably, they are still there.'_

Even that cursory thought was enough to drag up memories he'd rather not deal with and in response the piercing sunlight increased in intensity, burning his flesh almost as soon as he passed each ray of light. With a hiss he dropped, splashing the icy water onto reddened flesh to help dull the pain. The smell of decay his him hard, but it was drowned out by the quickly receding pain, leaving him gasping in the filth, clutching one arm, half melted, to his chest.

' _Kaa-san, Imouto, why do thoughts of you hurt so much?'_

It had been two weeks since their departure and yet his heart still ached painfully in his chest. During the day it wasn't too bad, a million distractions and other worries serving as a buffer to reduce it to a dull throbbing more easily ignored. At night, however, there was no escape under that watchful stare of the moon, or within the bittersweet arms of Hypnos. His dreams were plagued with them, his two suns, his two angels, and even the sweetest smiles that graced their faces left his soul screaming in sorrowful agony, a wretched song of misery and despair, pain and loss, and, worst of all, an empty hopelessness that gnawed on his heart a little more each day.

That was to say nothing for the nights in which their smiles would disappear, replaced by cruel smirks or scowls of disgust. Those looks would only remind him of the questions that still lingered, unanswered. Why did they leave? Why didn't they tell me? Why was I locked out of the house? Will they come back? Do they love me?

Do they really hate me?

He couldn't hold it in any longer as he released a wail that shook the foundations of this strange, memory-inducing world, before he was reduced to choking sobs that wracked his tiny body. As he lay trembling in the freezing water, he couldn't help but think it would have been better for him had the Kyuubi's chakra ended him on that night.

* * *

Another shudder wracked her body, sorrow touching her in ways that, while unsettling, were not completely unpleasant. There was a bitter sweet quality to his suffering, his pain, and with every second her disgust with herself grew just a bit more. A sigh passed through soft ruby lips, her head rested lazily against the cold bars of her prison.

Her delicate fingers gripped the iron rods more tightly as another sob reached her pointed ears, her lips moving into a frown.

For years she had resided within this new seal, growing use to the unique discomfort it provided. Unlike the previous two, where she was painfully bound in her released form, now she was kept from releasing, trapped in this sewer-like basement in her default, human, form, when she- and quite possibly the seal- knew it would be much more bearable within her fox form.

Once more, a sob made its way into her chamber, telling her that the boy had yet to move, and she found her mind drifting to thoughts of him.

She had known of him, of course, she was there when he had been conceived, had been with him as he grew from egg to tiny human, and she had been there when he- and his sister- had been brought into world. Should she be honest with herself, she didn't much like that part. She had gotten used to feeling those two, and there was a certain camaraderie with the three of them being trapped within her current jailer, but then they had left. There was an emptiness that followed their departure, followed quickly by bitter jealousy.

And then, like them, she was once again brought into the world-

She had felt guilt for being so angered at the tiny, hairless apes that she had spent nine months with. Two red eyes had turned that guilt into new anger, and that anger into rage. Before she knew it she had slaughtered thousands and wrecked a good portion of the village that had kept her imprisoned for the past decades. She had been quite pleased.

And then she was, once again, sealed into an Uzumaki woman.

There was more to that, of course, for the man who sealed her was not Uzumaki and was exhausted from his efforts to defend his beloved village. As such, he would not have been able to seal her entirely within the Eight Trigram seal, even with aid from the being known as the Shinigami, there just wasn't enough room.

' _Well, there was enough room, just not enough for him to be able to seal me within.'_

Indeed, she had fit perfectly within the space, so perfectly that the 'gate' to the seal would not have been able to move into place, left dangling before her within the seal. It'd have been child's play for her to get free.

Namikaze Minato had been more clever than she had given him credit for.

He had not attempted to use the seal to keep her locked away, but rather he had used it purely as a container to keep her in, the real lock had been placed around the entirety of the Eight Trigram seal, to the point that should she somehow accomplish the miraculous feat of breaking through the first, she'd still be contained with the actual lock- a lock that was not left unguarded.

She was present when he completed that part, watched as he had the Shinigami brand his son on the left side of the boy's chest, bore witness as a second seal was applied. Minato had actually gazed up into her eyes, pinned as she was by the Great Toad Boss, and acknowledged her sentience as he smiled- smiled!- and proudly proclaimed. "A gift, you see, from father to son. I pass on to him my greatest legacy, my final masterpiece." Even as the cold dread has settled within her stomach, she had understood.

She knew **exactly** what that was. To think he had actually managed to finish it had been stupefying, such a thing shouldn't have even been possible- it had no right to exist, even within the hollow dreams of mankind.

It was something that encroached upon the realm of the gods themselves; something only confirmed when the Shinigami bristled at the sight of such a seal, as small as it was to begin, being placed upon the child's right forearm.

"Look upon him, Great Kitsune," Minato had begun. "And bear witness unto he who shall be your warden. Feast your eyes on this fragile innocence and realize that with every simple breath he draws, he defies the very realms of heaven."

To this day, she still couldn't decide if he was mocking her or simply speaking as a proud father.

But she knew, regardless, that he had spoken the truth. So much so that she had not even attempted to break free from this place, it was beyond hopeless. That's what brought her here now, trapped within a cage beneath whatever this building was supposed to represent, sealed within a young girl, and listening to that girl's brother as he emptied the pain of his heart into her prison.

' _I suppose that means there are now two of us who suffer in here.'_

Suffering brought her mind back to the past years she had spent in here. Yes, she had suffered, but it had been more her pride than anything else. Here was a boy whose pain filled the seal and, if she didn't know better, she'd say the seal itself was enjoying it.

Another feeling filled her, one of warmth and happiness, a carefree breeze under the summer sun. Indeed, it was a sun, one of the suns that the very thought of had driven her warden to this state. Quickly, his own pain drove that feeling from her, and just as quickly it returned. To think that he was here, wishing her chakra could have just ended his life while his sister was of gallivanting across the elemental nations with their mother was just sad.

Now that she thought of it, however, the Kyuubi had never really felt any sorrow or pain over these years until she had found herself connected to her warden. Just as he described her, his sister was like a small sun, always warm and happy. Even now, knowing they had left her brother behind, she was as cheerful as the spring. So, for eight years she had felt nothing but the joy of her container. It had always sickened her to know her jailer was so carefree while she was trapped down here in the darkness.

And then he had crashed into the seal, struck by some of the chakra that had been siphoned off of her for years. She had called out for him, in both surprise and alarm, as her senses were flooded by what it must have been like to be burned alive by her own chakra.

She was more surprised when the connection remained, his own part of the seal using her chakra as a medium to bind the two together through space and time. His feelings had proceeded to flow through the connection; confusion, fear, sadness, and worry. She felt his adrenaline spike as he fought for his life in that snatch and run gone wrong, felt his relief and weariness when he had ended it, and had even felt the small spark of hope and happiness when he made acquaintances with the prostitute.

Sadness, however, was the most prominent of feelings, nearly drowning her, and even though she was focusing only on his feelings lately, the occasional spike of happiness from his sister would manage to come through. The strange mix of gladness and sorrow was tantalizing to her, a little guilty pleasure she would never admit. She had come to enjoy his sadness both for that and for the change in her otherwise stagnant environment, but she did not take any pleasure in the fact that he was sad, suffering alone when he had spent the entirety of his life in the company of those he loved far more than himself.

' _Kushina, if only you could see the pain you bring your son.'_

She had killed millions in her time, and yet she gave a snort as she thought _'I could probably be a better mother to him than you.'_ She froze at the thought. The very notion was ridiculous, unfeasible, incomprehensible, but, maybe, just maybe, it might work.

To not just befriend her warden, but to gain his complete trust by replacing his two suns with herself, to become the guide he so desperately needed at this moment, to become the mother of this human child.

' _Well, we'll just have to see where this goes now, won't we?'_

Crimson eyes flashed eerily as a chilling grin parted her ruby lips.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not pleased, but he could not fault them, no matter how much he wanted to. Uzumaki Naruto was a civilian, despite his clan, and thusly the hospital had no duty to inform him of the boy's release a fortnight ago. The Kyuubi's chakra mixed with his Uzumaki healing factor had left him in the clear. With no reason to hold him any longer, they let him go-

Without informing the Hokage.

The Hokage that thought the boy had spent the past two weeks under the care of the hospital while he had been busy both trying to figure out what the Yondaime Hokage had applied to his son and get in contact with his mother Uzumaki Kushina.

It had been a failure on both accounts.

Kushina had just left the fire capital and started on her way towards her ancestral home of Uzu. There was no one to send a message to in Uzu, and that meant he had to send it to a future destination and hope that they went there next. He had certainly been given a list of where they were to be going, but he knew Kushina well enough to know how easily distracted she got, especially when excited. Chances are she'd skip back and forth between places on his list at a whim, later claiming that she never specified in which order she'd visit things on the list.

In this case, such a thing was not in her best interests. She'd have plenty of time to regret her travel methods later, however, as there were certainly more pressing matters to attend to- like her son.

He still thought it had been a foolish notion, to leave while her son was attending his first academy day none the wiser, especially after promising to pick him up afterwards. If there were two things that Uzumaki took very seriously they were family and promises. In one fell swoop, Kushina had broken both.

He knew her reasons, of course, and understood them, but he knew without a doubt that there had to be a better way to set about doing it. Leaving him to figure out what had happened on his own was rather thoughtless and cruel.

The thought of him alone brought up the other reason he found himself displeased at the moment. She had left the boy with someone, but it was indirectly. Kushina had expected the boy to go straight to her old student, Yuuhi Kurenai, whom the Uzumaki woman saw as another daughter. She did not tell the boy to go to her, she did not have Kurenai pick him up at the academy, and from what he had gathered during his talk with Kurenai, she had not been in any way instructed to find the boy, only to take care of him when he came to stay with her.

The boy had not been at Kurenai's, and it was not hard to understand why when the woman would shift uncomfortably at the mere mention of his name. There was no doubt that the boy had picked up on such discomfort and as such he would never think to visit the woman for help. Kushina was either oblivious or ignorant- oblivious to the two's discomfort around one another, or ignorant in thinking her son would approach the Genjutsu mistress despite it.

No matter the reason, he had not gone and Kurenai had not searched for him, even after the news of his violent rejection from the clan compound had circled through Konohagakure.

"Monkey" he called for his own personal ANBU "Locate and retrieve Uzumaki Naruto. If he will not come, trail him and report back to me his current place of residence so that I may speak with him."

The monkey-faced man gave a quick bow and vanished to complete his assigned task.

Rubbing his face tiredly, Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a single deep drag, exhaling to hide his weary sigh. He needed to make sure the boy was alright, especially considering how quickly winter was coming and the fact that he had never been in his own before. The last thing the old Sarutobi wanted was for his successor's young son to freeze to death because his mother had completely sealed the house.

She hadn't mentioned that part in the plan, in fact, from what he could remember the ex-Jinchuriki had been expecting her son to stay there and go to her student whenever he needed help with something. Something must have changed in the last minute, or perhaps the seal had just malfunctioned, but Naruto suffered regardless.

He could only imagine how Naruto must have been feeling; left by his family without so much as a goodbye, knowing there was no one he could really turn to. _'Well,'_ Mused Hiruzen _'He could have come to me, though I suppose going to the Hokage because you find yourself homeless and alone sounds rather odd. He was always a bright child, he would think better than to bring something he thought of as unimportant to the rest of the village's wellbeing before me. We were never close enough for him to think of me as anything more than the Sandaime Hokage.'_

It was a sad truth for the man. He had always been close to the boy's mother and had become akin to a surrogate grandfather to the young Naruko, but there was always a distance between himself and young Naruto. It may have stemmed from treating the boy in the same manner as his sister- like a child of his age- instead of like the mature young man he was, it may have been because the boy really didn't reach out beyond his family- not needing anything else in life, but Hiruzen suspected the distance may have been caused because the boy did not see him as 'Sarutobi-Jiji' like his mother and sister, but rather as his future commander.

In his presence, Naruto would never meet his eyes, always kept them focused to the floor or, when addressed, the wall behind the Hokage's head, staring straight forward. The young boy bowed every time they met and saluted every time his name was called. The boy had an almost unsettling air of professionalism when within the presence of his Kage and while Hiruzen may have wished for more of that from his shinobi, it left a bad taste in his mouth for one so young to do so.

Especially considering how close he considered himself to the child's family.

He drove such thoughts from his mind with another deep inhalation of smoke. _'It's not the time to focus on that right now, all that matters is that he's safe and, if possible, happy. The boy wasn't much of a child before they left, probably trying to be the man of the house, but with them gone, I fear his childhood will be quick to follow.'_

Hiruzen didn't want that, not in the slightest. He wanted all the children of his village to enjoy a happy upbringing, or at least one in which they could be the children they were.

' _Eight years old would be far too young for a child to die, and is much too soon for a man to be born.'_

Hiruzen prayed that some of the boy's already fading innocence might still be saved before a boy was lost and a man emerged. He did not have much faith in his prayers.

' _He was never a child, just sheltered; perhaps it would not be entirely a bad thing.'_

With that thought in mind he leaned back in his chair, unsure if the creaking was from the furniture or his old bones, and waited patiently for his ANBU to return. How hard could it be to locate one young boy, even if the sun had hidden itself beneath the horizon? He gave a slight chuckle, it might actually prove a challenge for his ANBU, and one they may or might not appreciate.

' _No matter,'_ He thought, staring out his office window at the nightscape of his beautiful village _'If they can't find him tonight, they'll certainly find him at the academy in the morrow. Iruka hasn't raised any hell about a missing student, so I can only assume he's been attending.'_

That actually brought a frown to his face and he had to wonder if the young Chuunin even knew Naruto had been released. He'd have to look into it soon, especially if his ANBU somehow failed to locate the boy. He knew, however, that Monkey would recruit every registered shinobi and possibly even a large handful of civilians in his search for the boy before even considering reporting back empty handed.

It's why he chose him, after all.

* * *

Awful couldn't even begin to describe how she felt as she sat in her kitchen, her cold dinner untouched before her and the only illumination provided by a small, dim lamp that she had been meaning to replace for months now.

' _Miserable falls short, too.'_ She mused, crimson eyes gazing out her window. The Hokage had visited her late in the afternoon, looking to the boy that had been expected to be with her. He left disappointed. She knew the boy was supposed to come to her when he couldn't locate his family, she was the one who was supposed to break the news to him and take care of him in their absence. He was a good kid, but a helpless momma's boy. He wouldn't know how to take care of himself with her gone.

' _And yet he didn't come straight to me. I must have made quite an impression.'_

She was honestly a little disappointed when the boy didn't show up. Surely she was better than nothing? Learning he was in the hospital had put that fear to rest. Hearing that he had been released and yet not having him come to her brought it back. Had she truly alienated the child so?

She should have visited him in the hospital, should have taken him in, but she was scarred, no, terrified to do so. Despite what many thought, it wasn't' that she couldn't stand the presence of the boy, not that it made her uncomfortable, but rather that she felt too relaxed and too comfortable in his presence. It was that sense of ease that put her on guard.

She had only felt a similar comfort around the Yondaime Hokage, who had been her father figure, but it was nowhere on this level. The sheer contentment she felt in his presence was almost enough to lull her to sleep all on its own and powerful Jounin Kunoichi or not, he was an adorable child. She could think of nothing better than using him as a teddy bear for afternoon naps after he returned from the academy each day.

She couldn't stand it.

She was supposed to be one of Konoha's most powerful Kunoichi, a rare Genjutsu user unparalleled within the village of the leaf and yet here she was helpless as a kitten when it came to the son of her sensei. Helpless to the boy she called brother.

His warm chakra was a perfect blend of Minato's and Kushina's, as were his looks. He possessed his father's mind and his mother's love, a little ball of sunshine that tried to support everyone he held dear.

She was not one of them.

That dagger pierced deeply into her heart. There was little more she wanted than to be his big sister, or his aunt, or his second mother, anything really. She just wanted to be able to help him, to be one of his precious people. And yet she could not bring herself to relax in his presence, unable to fight down her traitorous shinobi instincts that screamed "Anything that can bring your guard down so easily is a danger, a threat, something to be eliminated."

She could not count the many times she had been forced to restrain her reflex to attack him- did not know how often she would be forced to put back the kunai she had found herself about to throw and completely remove all weapons on her person just to remain in the same room as him. But he probably did. He was not a fool, he knew she did not like being in his presence, though he probably didn't know her reasons, and he was also perceptive far beyond his years. She knew he had seen her barely stop herself from lashing out on more than one occasion.

Hell, he had probably seen them all.

But he also was a child, perhaps not so much in mind, but in body and in experience. He couldn't know he had such an effect on her, or even why, he didn't have any shinobi instincts of his own yet. He would only see a woman who could not stand his presence to the point that she would have to physically restrain herself lest she kill him within his home.

The thought alone brought her to tears.

' _Why can't you see that I don't want to hurt you, that I don't hate you? I just want to be there for you, I want to help you, why won't you let me?'_

She knew it wasn't him, he wasn't keeping her away, and she was. Always giving him disdainful looks and giving him the cold shoulder in hopes of driving him away so she wouldn't have to deal with the issue had worked perhaps too well. She didn't want to do it in the first place.

' _If I had just spent more time with him, became close to him, gave him the guidance and support he would have needed from an older sibling, I'd probably be used to his presence by now-_

 _I could probably be holding him'_

Tears began streaming down her cheeks, but were quickly stopped as she clamped down on her emotions.

' _I have no right to sit here pitying myself for not having him if I still can't bring myself to go get him. I don't even know how he's been living lately.'_ The image of Naruto lying in a box in some dark alleyway, shivering in the cold Konoha night made her chest tighten painfully. Her resolve to go find him grew as she stood up, ready to be what she needed to be for the boy, but another stray thought crossed her mind, leaving her to freeze before she could take her first step.

She approached the box, looking in to see his pale skin and signature red hair, but as she reached in he flinched back, pressing himself as tightly as he could to the back wall. "No, please, don't hurt me!" The boy cried. Biting back a gasp, she shook her head. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm here to take care of you."

"Lies!" He shouted. "I know you hate me, you want to kill me, I've seen you go for your kunai whenever you see me!" The boy whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks and soaking his cardboard home. "Please, I won't go near you again, I'll stay away from Kaa-san and Naruko-chan, I know you all hate me, just let me live and I'll never be a bother to any of you ever again!"

' _What!?'_

She chocked back a lump in her throat, her hands trembling and her chest tightening as if the Shinigami himself was grabbing hold of her soul. "I promise, I won't hurt you, just come with me, please." When he made no move aside from frightened shivers and whimpers she grabbed for him, gripping tightly his ripped shirt.

"No! No! Please, let me go!" She found herself getting frustrated as he squirmed and writhed in terror, desperate to get away. Couldn't he see she just wanted to help him? Why wouldn't he let her help him? Frustration grew to anger and her rage spilled over as he finally managed to escape her grasp.

"Fine!" She shouted. "If you want to stay away it just makes it easier on me!" She turned and began walking away with a huff before she heard him speak up softly. The low, gentle tone was almost solemn and instantly banished any anger within her. She turned and froze.

"So, If I was gone, it would be easier on people? Kaa-san and Naruko-chan didn't want me, it'd probably be better if they didn't have to worry about running into me.

' _No.'_

She must have dropped a kunai in the struggle to remove him from his box and it cheerfully reflected the pale light of the moon as he held it to his neck.

' _No.'_

He gave her a small smile, filled with such bittersweet sorrow she couldn't believe it was an eight year old boy standing before her. "At least I'll be able to make you happy. I'm glad you'll be the last thing I see."

' _No!'_

"Goodbye." It went in fast and hard, no hesitance as he jammed the tip through his neck and up into his head, his smile never leaving his face. It was not the smile that caught her eyes, however, as his amethyst gaze had completely captured her own ruby stare. She was unable to look away as those bright purple orbs grew dim and cold, all traces of light and life vanishing into the night.

His body hit the ground with a thud.

Cold horror took hold of her heart and soul, a feeling of such anguish that for a moment she forgot that she was standing in her apartment and staring into space. Gracelessly she fell back into her chair, placing her head in her hands as she quietly wept.

She needed to help him, to reach out to him. Her imagination was betraying her, that wasn't about to happen, she knew it wouldn't, her instincts knew it wouldn't, the god's themselves knew it wouldn't, but her heart still feared it might. Try as she might, she couldn't banish the image of his lifeless face from her mind, his eyes empty and his smile just as sorrowful as it had been before the Kunai.

It was a hard realization that hit her- her own cowardice, and she couldn't seem to overcome the horrors of her heart and mind born from fear of losing someone she had never had. The painful truth took hold, bringing with them even more salty tears.

' _I can't do it.'_

* * *

 **That will conclude act II. I hope to see you in my theater again for chapter three.**


	3. Warden

**And I'm back- with gifts! I bring you not only chapter three of my latest creation, but Uzumaki Kushina's first appearance within the story!**

 **Of course, these chapters are not done completely on my own. I have a friend and co-worker who looks over my writing, OmegaDelta was kind enough to point out the inconsistency of Naruto's eye colour(Which will be fixed as soon as this chapter is up), and ncpfan has been a wondrous help in ironing out important parts of this story.**

 **So a big round of applause for them.**

 **Now, with not much more to say before the show starts, I'll keep it nice and simple-**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"You sought my presence, Hokage-Sama?" Asked the boy, one arm behind his back and the other held horizontally before him in the standard Konohagakure salute. The Sandaime sadly gazed upon him, taking in the clothes he had purchased and the body language the Namikaze heir displayed.

Gone was the white shirt and green cargo shorts combo, the boy's only remaining pairs of such an outfit locked within the Uzumaki compound. Black cargo pants covered his legs, pockets bulging with items unknown to the Kage, tucked neatly into rather un-shinobi like boots. The boots weren't new, probably found discarded or within a second hand store around the village. A tight blue shirt hugged the boy's lithe frame, probably a good three sizes too small, but it did its job well enough. The sleeves were gone, and whether it had originally came without them or if Naruto had taken it upon himself to cut them off the old Sarutobi couldn't discern.

There was a single blue glove, much like those favored by Jounin, which was worn on his right hand, from under which white cloth traveled up the boy's arm and disappeared into the shirt, wrapped tightly to hide the strange seal he bore. Worn horizontally across the small of his back was a cylindrical bag which probably carried all of the unfortunate boy's worldly possessions.

The Sandaime knew that instead of lying idle, the boy's left hand- the one behind his back- was probably resting within the bag, ready to grab some sort of weapon he had come across over the past two weeks. Considering how common they were around here, it was probably an old kunai tossed out by its previous owner. Of course, being a shinobi village, the previous owner knew where it had been left- just in case.

"I did indeed, Naruto-kun, when I learned that you had been released from the hospital so soon and had not been staying with Yuuhi-san I found myself concerned with your wellbeing. Though, you seem to be doing alright on your own, much to my pleasure and surprise."

The boy gave a stiff nod in gratitude, his body still as coiled and ready to bolt. Hiruzen had thought this odd at first, especially when the young boy's body language showed him to be ready to bolt towards the desk, but he had understood once he remembered that he had opened his window earlier that morning to enjoy the morning air. It was a good plan- or as good as a civilian's could be. There were far fewer ANBU outside of the building, and the chances of disappearing within the throngs of people were pretty good, even with his unique hair.

Of course, it hinged on getting past **him** \- the God of Shinobi, so maybe not that great. _'Unless,'_ he mused. _'He had been planning on using surprise to escape in the case he needed to escape.'_ It was better, then, if the boy thought such might be necessary, to keep him from knowing they were on to him, such knowledge could easily make him feel like a caged animal. The boy had enough troubles without that.

And then his ANBU had to fuck it all up.

He had been aware of it, or course, their hands covering the lower parts of their faces, trying not to laugh at the little boy who was so ready to flee. Monkey, hiding in the corner of the ceiling, had learned enough about the swift child when trying to fight him and so he found the situation amusing. Bear, who was near the door, was trying not to chuckle at how much they boy seemed to scream 'Rookie Shinobi' despite being an untrained civilian. Cat, watching from behind her Kage, had to stifle her giggles, finding Naruto and his mannerisms to be absolutely adorable for such a cute little child.

Perhaps they had just grown lax in these times of peace, or they had become overconfident in the rudimentary Genjutsu that hid them, but whatever the case, they weren't nearly as quiet as they thought they were.

Instantly, Naruto's eyes darted to the three places the ANBU occupied, slipping out his kunai and spinning his back to the window to keep all three places in sight in a single smooth movement. His right arm remained in its salute even as the kunai was brought to his side by his left. He backed up slowly, ears strained for the noises that had suddenly cut off, leaving only a horrified silence in their wake.

"Hokage-Sama!" Called the boy, his voice coming out crisp and clear despite the hint of nervousness that waivered within it. "Three unknowns within the perimeter, identify your kin!"

It was old, archaic even, and the old Sarutobi found himself caught off-guard by the Namikaze heir's use of such a line from the time of the warring clans. Kushina must have kept books on such subjects within the compound library. Considering the amount of time she spent in it, it was only natural for Naruto, who spent most of his childhood glued to her leg, to have read quite a lot despite his young age.

"Hokage-Sama!"

It was a final call, a last warning. This was not a request, but an order. If they had been a common enemy, the Kage would have answered immediately in the negative. If they were Hiruzen's shinobi, he'd have answered in the affirmative. By not answering, Hiruzen acknowledged them as his own but refused to inform Naruto, which meant both the unknown shinobi and the Kage himself were hostile. As it is, even answering after that warning would mean Naruto would remain especially wary of everyone else in the room.

What a time to be stupefied by the actions of an eight year old boy.

Holding up one hand, the Kage explained. "It's all right, my boy, those are my personal guard. As it is, I'm rather disappointed that they were found out so easily. You have nothing to fear." The boy was still skeptical- rightly so- but responded properly regardless.

"I understand, Sarutobi-Sama, I apologize for my reaction; their unannounced presence startled me in ways unbecoming a member of the Uzumaki clan. I humbly request your forgiveness." Despite his words, his head remained high and he made no move to put away the kunai even as he returned to his previous position.

"Of course, Naruto, I understand completely. It is I who is at fault for neglecting to inform you of their presence during our meeting." While he said this with a smile on his face, internally the Kage winced. He knew the cold, dead tone that apology had been given in was simply because Naruto was quoting it from a book and trying to remain professional in the presence of his Kage, but it felt wrong to hear it from a boy so young. There was also the matter of how he had been addressed. No longer 'Hokage-Sama', but as 'Sarutobi-Sama', which meant the child wasn't seeing him as the Hokage, but as the head of the Sarutobi clan. That hesitance he had when he heard the boy say something so unexpected had just cost his entire clan the trust of Uzumaki Naruto, heir of the Namikaze. It truly was as if the young boy- no, young man- was of those dark ages known as the Clan Wars.

Had a child's Will of Fire been put out so quickly, breaking down the village into separate clan factions? Perhaps the hidden villages were a bad idea in the first place. The idea of peace and security was great, but because it was an entity made of smaller groups who had been together for generations, the ties of blood were far stronger than the ties made when they wrapped that plate of steel around their heads.

For shinobi, it always had been clan over comrade.

Giving a sigh, the old Sarutobi decided to make an effort to meet Naruto's mannerisms. It was a good thing he was known as the professor.

"I know that you and your clan are currently faced with…difficult...times, Naruto-Dono, is there some way your Konohagakure comrades, the Sarutobi clan, might be of assistance? My failure to inform you of my guard was shameful and I would hate for it to reflect upon the members of my clan."

' _There, Naruto-Kun, the ball is in your court, how can I help you?'_ It might be considered a little underhanded, but this was the best way to help the young man before him. By making it a clan matter, he would have to choose something lest he slight a clan that was attempting to make amends. Such would bring shame to his own clan, or, it would have, back in those days. Now it wouldn't get more than the occasional rude gesture on the street that would be laughed off.

Naruto seemed to be thinking about it, which meant he was well aware what was happening. Hiruzen really wanted to know just what the boy had been reading within that compound, it was fascinating to be reenacting the clan interactions from the wars that occurred nearly a century ago- especially when his political mock-opponent was a young man no older than eight. The professor within him was almost giddy.

"Yours is a gracious offer, Great Monkey of Hi no Kuni. Truly you bring pride to this Strong Tree which stands tall above all the forests in the world." Hiruzen couldn't hide his shock, or the grimace that came afterwards. The ANBU couldn't believe what they were seeing from their Kage, but he knew he had not been met, but raised one.

' _To speak in such a manner- incredible! How does this eight year old know pre-chakra customs? I have indeed underestimated both the Uzumaki library and this incredible mind.'_

Another thought crossed his mind which caused him to grimace again.

' _Danzou would just fucking love to meet a boy who referred to Konoha as a 'Strong Tree' and acted as if he were in the times of the ancient clans.'_

Hiruzen decided it would be best to keep them from meeting.

Evidently taking Hiruzen's grimace as a sign to continue, Naruto went on. "These forests and fields are well kept by your clan, Great Monkey, and I would be honored to help remove that which careless shinobi leave in their wake. I would ask only permission to access the fields so that I may do my part in maintaining this forest and the Great Tree which rules over it."

It sounded fancy and good natured, but Hiruzen knew what he was really asking. If it had been his sister Naruko asking the same thing it would go something along the lines of 'Yo, Jiji, can I pick up all the gear people leave at the training grounds?'

He may have told her no, but it wouldn't be so easy with her brother. He, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had offered the aid of his clan and he knew that Naruto was most likely doing this in part to support himself and also to build up his own shinobi tools which he would need for practice and out in the field upon graduation. He couldn't, in good consciences or good faith, deny Naruto this opportunity. It was like he said, too, a lot of shinobi left old kunai, shiruken, wire, and a host of other things just because they couldn't be bothered to retrieve them. At least they would go to good use now.

The old monkey nodded to the boy. "It would be our pleasure to give you the opportunity to aid our clan in our duty to this sacred forest and the great tree which watches over it. You have our blessing to help as you feel proper and we thank you for your dedication to this open home of living wood which shields us all within its eternal leaves. May this place prosper under the toil of your young hands, you who would think for his clan and country before himself. You bring greatness unto your clan that the forests shall whisper through the last sunset, go with pride on the path that shall grow strong with your passing."

"Your words flatter me, Sarutobi-Sama, I thank you and your clan for all they have done for me and mine. I shall take my leave now, as I would return to the academy before its conclusion for the day." With a bow he left, his words having returned to that of the Clan Wars and signaling the end of clan politics- for now.

Hiruzen managed to wait until the young man had left before releasing a large sigh. It was only peaceful a moment more before he turned a glare to his ANBU, all of which immediately appeared before his desk kneeling.

"I don't think I need to tell any of you how disappointed I am, do I?" They remained silent and unmoving, but he could feel the shame from them. After a few more moments of silence, Cat spoke.

"It was cute, at first, a little boy pretending to be a shinobi before his Kage, I couldn't stop myself." She looked especially uncomfortable and it took a substantial amount of effort for her to continue. "When he heard us and was able to immediately locate us, it was no longer funny or cute, I was ashamed of myself for being found out by a civilian child. And then he acted." She paused to shiver. "That wasn't a child, it was a cornered animal flying by its instincts. Those instincts, they resembled too much of my own and those of my comrades, a trained shinobi that have worked hard to carve away parts of their humanity to access the raw primal knowledge within all animals.

If you'll excuse me for saying this, it's like he abandoned everything that made him a person almost instantly, immediately reverting into a state in which his only goal is survival. A child shouldn't be like that."

Monkey chose that time to interject. "He's not a child, Cat, I saw him this morning, slinking across the rooftops like a beast on the prowl. He would dive down into the crowds to receive a single yen or a scrap of cloth from the dumpsters. He's far too proud to ask for assistance from anyone he doesn't know, and he doesn't seem to know anyone well enough to receive aid in the first place.

He's a wounded wolf without a pack, and that's what makes him dangerous."

As much as it displeased him, the Hokage couldn't disagree.

* * *

With a huff she fell back onto the mattress, her long crimson hair splaying out around her. It had taken two and a half weeks to make it to the fire capital to visit with the daimyo and it was here, in a room within the palace, that she had just fallen onto her bed to rest from the journey. She wasn't all that tired, being a Jounin who was nearing S-rank, but taking care of Naruko while they slowly walked here had taken its toll.

Her bed dipped down as her daughter flopped down next to her, utterly exhausted. Kushina couldn't help but give a small smile, which immediately had her daughter on the defensive.

"Hey!" The girl pouted, "It's not funny, I'm really tired! Not all of us can be super-ninja like you Kaa-chan!"

Kushina laughed in response. "By the time I'm done with you, you will be, my little sunflower." She had brought her out here with the intent of training her to be just as strong as her mother and as an Uzumaki she'd be damned if she didn't meet her goal. 'Overkill' was the equivalent of 'yes' when it came to the Uzumaki clan.

Naruko giggled, rolling atop her mother and straddling her stomach. Peering down, she asked "And Nii-kun too, right?" Kushina laughed again and Naruko cheered at her response. "Yes, your brother too, when we get back I'll give him the same training I'll be giving you. It will be difficult, but Dr. Uzumaki Kushina will be the first to create the 'Super-Ninja-Big-Brother Model 1 with extra warm hugs' at the request of the Sunflower Princess if it's the last thing I do."

' _He always did have the best hugs.'_ She had missed them on the first day away from him, the hugs and the smiles that seemed to brighten the Uzumaki household. His amethyst eyes had always sparkled with such joy and innocence when she looked at him. Her crimson hair and his father's personality had meshed well for the Uzumaki prince and she had no doubt that by the time she got back she would have to have a stick ready to beat back the fangirls he would have received in the academy. _'I wonder if he'll have a girlfriend to introduce to me when I get back.'_ She could ask Tsunade, Hiruzen, or Kurenai to let her know, but that would ruin the surprise. she didn't want to have any idea until he introduced her to his girl. _'Maybe the Hyuuga heiress,'_ she mused. _'They would be cute together. Oh! He could get with Ayame-chan, then my daughter in law could live at the compound and we'd have Ichiraku ramen every night!'_

She giggled at the thought and Naruko shot her an odd look.

"I was just picturing your brother with a girlfriend." She explained. The new look she was given was incredulous- Naruto really didn't reach out to anyone, he was a very private person when he was away from family. He'd probably have to have an arranged marriage- but was also outraged, as if she were insulted that her mother had suggested some other girl taking away her brother. Kushina found it cute. "Now, now, Naruko, hear me out, no one's taking him, I was just thinking about him with Ayame. He'd bring her home to live with us and we'd have ramen every night!"

The girl's anger slipped away as she too began giggling at the picture. "I can see him sitting at the table blushing up a storm as Ayame places ramen in front of him before climbing into his lap like a little kitten."

"See," Teased the Uzumaki matriarch. "That wouldn't be too bad."

"No," Naruko shook her head. "That would be great, Ayame really would be my Nee-chan."

"Hmm, Nee-chan, huh? In that case, maybe I could get him together with Kurenai, then she'd really be my daughter and your older sister. He'll be spending a lot of time with her for the next few years anyway, it would be kind of cute for him to develop a crush on one of Konoha's Ice Mistresses, especially when she's been taking care of him."

Naruko went oddly quiet at that, raising questions for Kushina. "Hmm? What's wrong, Naruko? You know I was only joking, right? If you don't like it I'll stop suggesting pushing them together, I just thought it was funny."

"It-it's not that, I like Kurenai, it's just that, well, Kurenai and Nii-kun don't seem to get along all that well, you know? There always seems to be some sort of tension between them." Kushina had no idea what she was talking about, Kurenai always seemed very polite and pleasant towards her son, and Naruto didn't hide behind her legs, which meant he must have not felt that uncomfortable around the woman.

"Sexual tension?" Kushina offered, trying to lighten the mood. She was only met with an inquisitive stare.

"What?" Ah, that's right, she had yet to give Naruko the talk, she had forgotten. Naruto was always so curious and mature that she had had to give him the talk before the academy, but Naruko was still innocent. Kushina hoped to keep it that way until she became a shinobi, at least.

"N-nothing, dear, just forget mommy said that, okay?" Naruko seemed like she wanted to press the matter but instead just frowned and gave a nod.

"Okay."

Bullet dodged.

"Say, Kaa-chan?" Asked Naruko after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Yes, little sunflower?"

"We're going to get Naruto presents while we're away, right?"

"Of course."

"How will we carry them all?"

Her own daughter, an Uzumaki princess, didn't automatically turn to Fuinjutsu when faced with a problem- Kushina had failed as an Uzumaki.

Sitting up, Kushina walked over to the bags, pulling out a scroll from which she unsealed yet another scroll. "With this, honey." She answered, holding it up for Naruko to see. It was purple, much like the eyes she shared with her son, and either edge was white. Written in red was 'Naruto' which was pretty self-explanatory.

"Everything we get for him will go in here, that way we don't have to carry around all his presents for the next few years."

Naruko frowned for a few moments, thinking, before giving a brilliant smile. "I understand, Kaa-chan, but it won't have his best present in it!"

Kushina humored the girl with a soft smile. "And what would that be?"

"Me!"

' _Eh-he, what?'_

"I'm coming back, and that's the best present he'll ever get!"

"Erm, that's right, sweetie, I'm sure he'll be glad to have his sister back."

"Yep, I'm going to be Nii-kun's present!" A bead of sweat dripped down the side of Kushina's head as she nervously chuckled.

"That's great, Naruko-chan, but you probably shouldn't say it like that."

"Huh? Why not?" The girl tilted her head to the side curiously, bright blue eyes blinking like an owl.

' _I really, really don't want to have this talk right now, things will just get awkward for the both of us.'_ Thought Kushina in dismay. Fortunately- which was actually rather unfortunately- Naruko simply shrugged and continued on with her train of thought.

"When we get back I'm going to give myself to Nii-kun. We'll go up to his room and I'll grab his scroll." The girl paused to frown. "We'll probably make a really big mess, it will be everywhere by the time we're done." She gave a mega-watt smile towards her mortified mother. "But I bet Nii-kun will be really happy with me once I empty his scroll of all his stuff. Then we'll clean it up together."

She looked at her mother's shocked and appalled face for a moment before amending her previous statements. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kaa-chan, I'll let you help me empty his scroll if that's what you want. I probably won't be able to get it all out myself anyway, your help would be great." She flashed another grin to the woman who was nearly as red as her hair. "Nii-kun would want to spend more time with you, too, so we can all do it together."

It was decided, she couldn't put it off after **THAT,** it was time to give Naruko 'The Talk'.

"N-naruko, honey, I think it's time for our first lesson."

"Really?! What is it, what is it?!" The girl was practically bouncing with excitement, which meant she'd be really disappointed by this lesson. This was not going to be fun but at least she could draw comfort from the fact that Naruto would be following the instructions she left him while she was here giving her daughter 'The Talk'. His maturity really was a blessing.

"It's time for you to learn about the 'Birds and the Bees'."

For the next week, neither of the two Uzumaki women would be able to meet each other's eyes.

* * *

' _Oh, I'm back.'_ That was odd, usually all his dreams were different despite being about the same two people each time. Just like last time, the scattered light increased in intensity. Unlike last time, the light did not melt his flesh. Stepping into the shadows that clung to the walls on either side of this flooded basement, he gazed down to his arm, noting the reddening like sunburn.

A dull ache seemed to come from it, pulsing with agony in synch with his heart. There was a smothered feeling to it though, as if looking at something through foggy glass and only making out the general idea of what it was. He wanted to call it numbness, but he didn't feel numb, only weary. Like the taste of one's mouth, the pain was simply there. He knew of it, but it was familiar- he had grown used to it.

' _Did it only take that one time for my heart to accept this? Is it really so eager to move past this pain?'_

He focused his thoughts on his mother and sister, on his love for them, on how they had left him-

The pain returned. He fell to his knees clutching his chest as it contracted painfully, tightening into the frozen grip of death that offered so innocently to take away all his pain. Paying attention only to the pain, it slowly ebbed away, leaving him feeling hollow and cold.

' _It is best, perhaps, that I simply continue on. I must keep pressing forward and focus only on my next breath, my next step, my next meal, my next target, my next sleeping place. What's next?'_

Sufficiently distracted, he began walking. Some animals might lay in wait, but he didn't have the patience for it. He had to keep going, seeking out opportunity, staying ready to fight or flee.

' _What is this place?'_ He wondered as he began his trek down crumbling hallways. Most of his dreams happened in places he knew. As far as he was aware, he had never been to this place.

Time felt strange here, in one moment it would go by normally, in the next it had slowed to a crawl, the gently flowing water becoming a perfectly motionless mirror. An instant later it was rushing passed his legs as if some great and terrible demon chased towards it with unquenchable thirst. Looking down into the murky water that smelled only of rot and decay, he could understand why a demon might not be able to satisfy their thirst with such putrid water.

He had thought originally that the water was simply flowing at a different speed; it was the logical conclusion, after all. But when he had splashed a handful of it from the still pool around him and it hung in the air until the rest of the water began moving, he knew it had to be time itself that bent and warped in this place.

' _Time and space'_ The first thing that came to mind were storage seals- seals in general, really- which operated by bending space-time, but that would make for a rather odd dream. Had he actually found himself within a seal of some sort or was this dream simply his mind puzzling over the nature and existence of seals while he slept?

Time once again sped up and he found himself curious of the water that passed him by.

' _What if I-'_ Before he had even finished his thought he had acted upon it, surrendering himself unto the current as he fell into the water. He was carried swiftly and as he floated on his back he couldn't help but release a chuckle. This would have made everything a lot easier if he had thought of this easier. It was a far more simple matter to focus on enjoying the ride than walking down a hallway trying not to think about those who had left him behind.

After what could have been hours or mere seconds, something changed.

He wasn't sure what it was that had changed, he didn't know why everything felt different, but something was wrong -no- something was new. There was no telling what was proper in this place and he immediately kicked himself for becoming so relaxed.

' _I'm such a fool.'_ He thought, pulling himself upright.

He froze.

This was not a hallway, this was a cage.

This was a humongous cage.

And it was not empty.

It was not those facts that made him so warry, but rather who stared out at him from within it.

' _But she's dead!'_ Indeed, Uzumaki Mito was dead, and yet, here she was, peering through at him from behind cage bars that were bigger than she was. In fact, based on size alone, she should be easily able to slip through them. That was probably what made him most hesitant about this situation. There was something more at work here.

Cautiously, he approached her, much to her amusement based upon her facial expression alone. When he was no more than three yards away from the cage he stopped, both figures staring at each other in silence. It was now that he was close that he could see the small differences between Uzumaki Mito and this woman before him.

First was the hair. It wasn't red, but rather a dark orange with the occasional strand of crimson. The woman's eyes were a bright scarlet with dark slits for pupils, he knew for a fact that Mito's eyes were nothing like that. Finally were the lips, Mito was known for being a stoic as a Hyuuga, and yet this woman was smirking at him with ruby lips. That had to be lipstick, which Mito supposedly never wore, or it was the woman's natural lip color, which would be wrong for the deceased Uzumaki.

His observations complete, he finally inquired "What shall I call you?" This seemed to amuse her only more.

"My, most people would ask 'Who are you?', you're already proving to be quite interesting." She gave a giggle which ceased at his blank stare. He continued to look at her in silence until she relented with a pout.

"Well you're no fun; I guess I was wrong about you. I don't tell my name to just anyone, but you can call me Mito." She gave another giggle. "I've become quite fond of the name."

"And her form, it would seem." She froze at this before a grin stretched across her face.

"Oh, you know of her then? Color me impressed."

"You take upon yourself the name and form of the first Jinchuriki and refuse to give your true name. Tell me, Great Fox, why am I in this place?"

"Wow, you catch on fast, don't 'cha? I shouldn't be surprised; you were always a smart one." She giggled once again, giving him a bright, almost caring smile. It hurt his heart to look at it.

"You're in this place, Warden, because I wanted to meet the man who will be taking care of me."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it. Come back next week for chapter four of Sealkeeper: He Who Binds.**


	4. Little Thief

**And right on schedule, your Friday update is here. Well, where I am, it's Friday, which also means it's Christmas, so merry Christmas to you all.**

 **Once again, I would like to thank Ncpfan for all his help in bringing this story to my stage. I'm fine with the set and the characters, but without his help my plot would be rather flat. So let's give a big cheer for the one who helped me flesh out this idea and turn it into an actual story.**

 **Now, this chapter should answer some of the biggest questions, but with any luck it will give you some more to ponder over. So, I think the stage is about set and my actors are ready, so, without further pause-**

 **Let's start the show, Ne?**

* * *

"Come now, Warden, I know my appearance is mesmerizing, but to stand there frozen is unbecoming of one of status such as your own." The Kyuubi- Mito, as she insisted- smiled. It was a disarming smile, one of mischief and enticement that could break down the distrust of all but the strongest of wills.

Naruto, however, was not must for trust.

He didn't trust outsiders before his family left him, he trusted others even less when he found himself on the streets, and he most certainly did not trust the nine-tailed fox demon whom his existence kept locked away within his sister.

That didn't seem to bother her any, however, as the smile never left her face.

"Aw, what's the matter, fox got your tongue?" She giggled, something which he may have found cute if he didn't know she was a gigantic fox who had slaughtered millions throughout history.

Her smile became a smirk at his silence. "You know," she began. "If you come closer, I really can take your tongue." She licked her lips. "We could have a lot of fun here, you know." Another giggle escaped her ruby lips, spilling forth in a sensual melody. "No one would ever know what it is my warden does to me, and I would be powerless to stop you. That is, if I wanted to stop you."

Still, Naruto did not react.

Pouting, she whined. "Well, you're no fun, can't even play along with a girl. Do you know how long it's been since I've had someone to talk to? I might as well be alone again if you're not going to contribute to the conversation."

His response spoke exactly of how much he cared for her plight. "If I could leave you, I would. I have no desire to be here in your….company."

"Oh, you're so cold, Mister Warden! Don't' say things like that, you haven't even introduced yourself to me yet."

"I don't plan on making your acquaintance."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?" Asked Mito, lifting one regal eyebrow in question as her pout became a displeased frown. Naruto shook his head.

"My mother's manners left much to be desired. She did, however, teach me not to talk to strangers." This earned him a grin from the Kyuubi.

"Fair enough, I suppose, young warden." The smirk returned. "Let's say you and I not be strangers anymore, huh? After all, we will be seeing quite a lot of each other from now on. You being my warden and all, it's your responsibility to look after me. It will be quite difficult for you to do so without actually interacting with me."

"You may wish to be more careful with your words, it almost sounds like you're challenging an Uzumaki." His lips quirked the smallest amount upwards, the most emotion he had shown in this encounter. In response, the Kyuubi blanched. Even she knew not to challenge an Uzumaki, the entire clan was known to do the impossible when told they couldn't.

"I would not be so foolish as to do such a thing, dear warden; I pray that you never take my words as such."

"I see." Replied the Uzumaki, his blank face becoming a frown. "You still have yet to inform me as to why I am here."

"Didn't I?" questioned the fox. "I could have sworn I told you I wanted to meet you."

"You did." He confirmed with a nod. "and you have. Was there anything else or may I be on my way?"

Ruby lips smirked as she gazed at him hungrily. "My, are you asking permission from this lowly prisoner, great warden? I'm flattered."

"I was being polite, Mito. Do not mistake my manners as subservience. I answer to two people, you are neither."

"Oh, and here I was thinking your mother didn't teach you any manners, were you lying to me? Such a naughty little boy you are." He was getting used to that giggle. It may not have been attractive when you thought about who it was giggling, but it seemed to fit in some odd way.

"Perhaps then, Great Fox, my mother has shown me what not to do."

"Ooh, I may have formed an opinion of you too quickly; I'm starting to like you, warden." She placed her arms on two of the cage's bars and leaned out as far as she could, her soft smile once again adorning those ruby lips. "I have to wonder then," she mused. "Is that why you won't introduce yourself? I know your mother likes to let everyone know who she is and how much strength she has."

"I have not introduced myself because I do not wish to introduce myself, fox. You do not need my name for me to check up on you. Already you call me 'Warden', I see no reason you cannot continue to do so until my death."

"Still so cold, I was hoping you had begun to warm up a bit to me. It's hard not to enjoy the company of a woman as beautiful as myself-"She was cut off by Naruto who interjected;

"I'm sure Lady Mito was wondrous company."

Frowning, the Kyuubi shot him a dirty look. "As I was saying," She grumbled, much to his own amusement. "I thought you would be a bit more welcome to spending time in my presence, my past notwithstanding. Oh well, it's no matter, I know enough about you as it is."

Naruto raised a brow. "And how, pray tell, is that? To the best of my knowledge, this is our first interaction."

"Oh, it is, dear warden, but you have interacted with your sister, have you not?" She gave a short, mirthful laugh. "I've spent a lot of time with you, Nii-Kun, surrounded by the memories your sister has of you. I get to experience some of her thoughts and can even view the world through her eyes, if I so wish. It takes a lot of effort, but it does get so terribly dull in here, you know?"

"I'll have to take your word for it. However, this also means I have no need for me to introduce myself. While I may not have previously met you- and still have no desire to meet you- you have met me."

"But this time it's face to face, the other times don't count." She countered.

"Then we are done here. You know of me, have seen me, and have now spoken to me face to face. Was there anything else? I grow weary of this place."

She gave a bark of laughter. "You? Sick of this place? I've been here for years, how do you think I feel?" Pausing, she frowned in thought, staring straight into his eyes.

"You know, warden, it is your job to care for me. This prison-"She gestured about their surroundings. "is not really suitable for a prisoner, especially one of my standing. Surely you would not be opposed to a bit of remodeling? Nothing complex, just something basic would be a welcome change. A bed, perhaps, maybe even a square of concrete raised above the water so that I can be dry? You can't be so heartless as to leave a poor woman to rot within this filth."

He gave his own thoughtful frown, mulling it over. If she spoke truthfully- and he really couldn't find any deceit in her words- then he was her keeper. He knew that the seal on him kept her within, but he had always thought of his sister as the jailer. He was just the lock. Perhaps, then, he had been failing his duty for all of these years.

She may have been a great beast of destruction, but she was also the most powerful being on the planet who had been imprisoned for years before getting a chance to lash out at her captors. More than that, though, she was his responsibility.

She was his.

He liked the sound of that. Here she was, powerless, helpless, needing someone to help her in her time of weakness. And he could help. He could take care of her. He had always been fussed over by others, but the prospect of looking out for someone else made him almost giddy with excitement.

"How would I go about changing things, Mito?" he asked. His voice had softened, no longer the frigid, uncaring tone he had used for the entire encounter. Knowing that she had obtained this small victory, Mito smiled.

"You're the warden, will it so." Then she added. "Even if that doesn't work, that new seal of yours should have no problem changing this place."

She instantly had his undivided attention when she said that.

"You know of this seal, fox?" he asked. "Tell me, what does it do, what is its purpose?"

She wagged a finger at him. "Uh-uh-uh, it's not my place to tell you. It can help you change this place, but that's all I'm giving up. You'll have to discover its secrets on your own." He frowned but nodded nonetheless.

"Very well. It is, after all, my responsibility to bear- just as you are." With a thought – and a wave of his hand for dramatic effect- the world around them rippled in and out of existence, morphing to his desires.

A large slab of black marble rose from the water, covering a large area on either side of the gate but allowing the water to flow freely along the wall. The room, once bright from an unknown source of light, dimmed considerably even as silver torches grew from the repairing walls and came to life with green flames.

The great gate that once was the focus of the room disappeared, leaving only a band of gold along the floor and walls to signify the barrier that was still there. Over that gold band shimmered into existence a grand dining table of dark wood clothed with a length of crimson silk. A gold candelabra appeared dead center, casting faint light with its red flames. Only two chairs formed- one at either end- with high backs and intricately carved arm rests.

Taking a seat, Naruto ignored Mito's amused grin. He reached for a glass bottle before pouring it into two glasses, one of which he slid all the way down to her own seat, the physics of this world changing to ensure his desires were heeded.

As he reached for his glass his clothes melted away, reforming into a black suit that was more fitting for the atmosphere. Once Mito took her own seat, her attire likewise changed, going from a simple red kimono to an elegant red ball gown.

"All of this for little old me?" She grinned. "You shouldn't have."

"No, I shouldn't have." He agreed, taking a sip. "But I figured this was fitting for one of your status."

"See," She teased. "I knew you were warming up to me." He gave a snort in response, but did not disagree. She was indeed growing on him, and fast, too. Much like Tatsuki, now that he thought about it. What was it about these women that allowed them to worm their way into his heart so effortlessly?

Satisfied that he didn't speak against her comment, she took a sip herself, only to pause at the flavor.

"Is- is this strawberry lemonade?" Inquired Mito in disbelief. It looked just like wine, but there was no mistaking the taste.

"I'm eight, I've never had any sort of wine, I wouldn't know how to create it here." He explained, finishing off his glass and pouring himself another.

"Huh, I keep forgetting how young you are, dear warden. It's hard to believe it with how you speak and act." He merely shrugged in reply.

Looking distastefully down at her fruity drink, she peered down the table to meet Naruto's eyes. "Say, you wouldn't have anything against me having a glass of blood now, would you?"

When he made no notice that he had heard her she let out a sigh and took a sip, only to spit it out as soon as it hit her tongue.

"It's blood?! When? "

"When you asked for it. It is what you wanted, is it not?" He raised a single eyebrow at her.

"No! Why on earth would you think I drank blood? I was joking!" Once again he shrugged, waving a hand lazily to vanish the glass and the blood she had spit out over his table. Standing up, he spun his own glass down the table to her with a flick of his wrist.

He couldn't help but grin when it moved so perfectly.

"You know," He mused aloud. "I'm starting to like this place."

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind coming back to visit?" She inquired, snatching up his glass and washing away the tang of blood that lingered in her mouth.

"No," He answered. "I don't think I would." Naruto gave a grin as he gazed at the image of a dead woman who sat across the table, his first smile since his family left.

"There are stairs behind you, they lead to your bedroom." She turned and nearly squealed at the prospect of a bed as she took note of the two curved staircases that led up into the darkness above.

"It's been fun, Mito."

As he willed himself out of this new world, he missed her victorious smirk-

And how she gazed hungrily at the place he had just occupied.

"Soon, my dear warden, you will be mine, and I will be free."

Maybe she'd keep him around after she escaped the seal on his sister, Uzumaki were known for their long lives and she wouldn't mind a bit of company for a hundred years or so. It was certainly a tempting notion.

* * *

Iruka gave a small sigh as his eyes roamed over his class. Like every other time he had gazed about the room, his eyes were inevitably drawn to the single chair that had remained empty for what was approaching dangerously close to three weeks now. Of course, that was not to say the absent occupant didn't observe the lessons, he simply didn't enter the classroom. Peering out the window and into the old tree that sat just outside the building, he could see his missing student sitting on a branch, jotting down notes that had been written on the board.

Everyone in Konoha had heard about what had happened to the boy, so it was easy to see he was uncomfortable with the notion of sitting amongst classmates who would no doubt bring up his recent misfortunes- especially if they learned he was now homeless. That would be a nightmare.

No, instead he arrived promptly each morning before the other students and would take notes until lunch. Then, he'd disappear for an hour or two before returning to watch the end of the practical lessons. When all the students had left for the day, the boy would practice what he had seen until confident that he understood, at which point he would disappear into the night.

As a teacher, Iruka was proud to say that Naruto picked everything up very quickly.

Of course, there was the matter of tests and examinations. As it was, he had been excused from those during the two weeks he was in the hospital, but another one was coming up soon. Naruto would have to come take it with his fellow students if he didn't want to fail or, worse, be dropped entirely from the shinobi program.

Iruka really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Watching as Naruto packed up and took off, he turned back to his chatting students.

"Alright, class," he called. "We'll break for lunch now, you have an hour. Remember, practical when you get back so eat first to give yourself plenty of time to digest."

He was answered by a chorus of "Hai, Iruka-sensei!" before they all stampeded out the door. Giving one last sigh, he turned back to the tree Naruto had only recently occupied.

' _I don't know what it is you leave to do, but whatever it is- good luck.'_

* * *

"Hey, watch it!" She yelled at the small figure that had darted in front of her, nearly knocking into her and making her spill all her groceries. The person either didn't care or had bigger things to worry about then some random woman's groceries, as he sped off without the slightest bit of remorse.

Moments later, it was revealed as to why.

"Get back here you little thief! I swear, when I find you-!" The man's threat went unfinished as he placed his hands on his knees, panting. It had obviously been quite a chase.

Shizune frowned, looking in the direction the cloaked figure had vanished in. It was pretty obvious by their size that they were still a child and while stealing was wrong –even if she was a shinobi- what was more wrong was that a child needed to steal. The orphanages were overfilled with children from the Kyuubi attack still and many lived on the streets, begging and scavenging.

Theft, however, was pretty new. Most didn't have the guts to risk it in a shinobi village. Not only was there a high chance of your target being a shinobi, or at least trained as one, but there was an even greater chance of a shinobi being nearby.

Shinobi had a tendency of stopping crimes, usually not out of the goodness of their hearts, but for some form of reward or compensation. Regardless of their reasoning, a civilian thief would be easy pickings for even a fresh Gennin, which meant successful thieves were either dumb and lucky or skilled and lucky, either way, without a healthy dose of luck, you'd find yourself locked up before you could count the coins you'd stolen.

As if on cue, three shinobi from the crowd dashed in the same direction the young boy had gone, intent on getting back the stolen coins. Whether they would return them once retrieved, however, was a different matter entirely.

Shaking her head, she continued on her way back to the Senju manor with her purchases. It wasn't any of her business. If the kid got away, good for him, if not, well, hopefully he wouldn't be roughed up too badly. She had only made it two blocks farther when she saw him again, perched on a roof just under an overhanging building. She almost missed him, shadowed as he was, but a flash of red when some of his hair fell out of his hood had drawn her attention. None too soon, either, as that strand was quickly tucked out of sight.

Curious, she moved to a wall of a nearby building to observe the child. Something about him seemed familiar in some way, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Almost five minutes later, when she was considering leaving, he tensed. Her eyes found the large group that passed near him and couldn't help but wonder why he would wait for a larger group. Sure, he'd be well hidden, but the chances of shinobi were higher, as were the chances of being tangled within the limbs of bystanders.

When he pulled out an old kunai, holding it in a reverse grip with his right hand, she furrowed her brows in concern. He wasn't aiming to kill one of them, was he? Before she could think more on the subject he leapt, landing in a roll right behind the group and quickly making his way through it. When he emerged from the front, he held no less than three different coin purses. He slipped into an alley nearby with none in the crowd any the wiser of what had just taken place.

'Oh, he's pretty good. He must have been doing this for most of his life.' She thought, somewhat amused by the young boy's skill. 'He'd make a fine shinobi one day.' Within moments, he was back in her sight, having climbed up the alley wall. Crouching down, he emptied the three purses into his own bag, which he promptly placed into one of the pockets on the side of his pants.

He turned back to the street and within a few minutes had his next group of targets. This group was no larger than the last one and yet when he pulled away from the crowd he had managed to procure five coin purses, despite the jingling his pocket of coins must have been making.

' _Was the number based on luck, or is he simply improving at such a rate?'_ He could have done poorly the first time or exceptionally well this time, but Shizune's instincts told her that this boy was a very fast learner. Or, rather, her instincts told her that he was quick to adapt, which meant about the same thing in this situation.

' _Wait, where'd he go?'_ The instant she realized she had lost sight of him, she felt a weight settle within the kunai pouch she was wearing. Spinning around, she was met with the sight of the boy, his purple eyes gazing up to her with a cold seriousness that set her on edge. Silently, he brought a single finger to his lips.

' _Is he…bribing me?'_ She thought in disbelief. Reaching a hand into her kunai pouch she felt a sack of coins that she knew hadn't been there earlier. _'He's really attempting to buy my silence.'_

It really was amazing, because the boy couldn't be more than eight years old, and yet here he was operating in a manner most of Konoha's current Chuunin couldn't accomplish. A sobering thought hit her. _'Why has he needed to adapt in such a way?'_

Staring at the boy who remained still and silent, waiting for her response, she finally realized why he seemed so familiar. _'Red hair and purple eyes, living on the streets, he must be that boy I heard those woman speaking of, the one who found himself without a family and locked out of his home.'_

The two old women had spoken about the boy who was some sort of royalty- a prince, if Shizune was remembering correctly- who was without home or family. The women hadn't known why his family was gone, whether they had fled something or were dead, but they did know that the boy found himself locked out of the sealed compound. With no where to go and no connections within the village, he had found himself on the streets, where he could be found darting about gathering lost items and discarded scraps. He was a scavenger, like a raccoon, one woman had joked, but the other was quick to speak against it, commenting on how he prowled like a wolf, despite the state he found himself in. She also mentioned that he was far too proud to ask for assistance even if he had someone to ask it from.

' _That would explain the coins'._ Thought Shizune. Of course the boy couldn't bring himself to ask her to keep quiet as he tried to scrounge up his next meal, but if he gave her part of his haul, he was paying for a service- in this case, the service of keeping one's lips closed.

' _If he had noticed me watching him, he must have been able to figure out that I'm a shinobi. It's not common for a shinobi to turn down a job, no matter how odd, so long as they are paid and it doesn't put their village in danger.'_ It must have been the case, as he was still here. He had to know if she accepted the job, otherwise he was in danger.

' _Wait,'_ she paused. _'Doesn't that make me a threat?'_ Her instincts weren't alerting her to danger as he stood there, still but relaxed, but as she discreetly looked out of the corner of her eye, she could catch the glimpse of metal hidden slightly behind his leg.

' _He's got his kunai out and ready.'_ She realized. _'If I don't accept his payment, he plans to silence me through other means.'_

She wouldn't be that easy to take down, being a high Chuunin level ninja, but the fact that he was ready to do so was, honestly, a bit disturbing. _'What are we, The Bloody Mist?'_

A child shouldn't act in this way, ever. She didn't care who they were, where they came from, or what their life story was, it was simply wrong to have a child acting so much like a, well, shinobi. Frowning at him, she couldn't help but feel pity for this homeless prince. Taking out the coin purse, she made a show of weighing it in her hand before nodding to him, signifying that she accepted the payment and would keep silent on this matter.

He gave a grateful nod of his own before running into a nearby alley and out of sight. It would appear his work was over for the day.

She didn't know his name, or why he was fending for himself, but she did know that he would go places as a shinobi. Hopefully, those places would be better than how he was living now.

' _Good luck, Little Thief.'_

* * *

Despite it being barely passed noon, there was already a sizable pile of empty bottles laid about around her. The busty blonde was far from drunk, however, having developed a rather large tolerance to alcohol over the years, much to her ire.

Drinking helped her forget, the ability to drink such copious amounts without becoming drunk- without being able to forget- was not a skill she cherished. That is, in fact, why she had started at nine in the morning. If she had waited any longer, she would not have grown inebriated enough to forget come evening, and if there was anything Senju Tsunade hated, it was being sober during the night.

Because if she wasn't drunk she'd never fall asleep, instead she'd spend the night lying in her bed, tossing and turning as her past haunted her with thoughts and memories she'd rather not have.

Drinking let her sleep, allowing her to wake up and start the process over again. It may have been pathetic, it might not be good enough to be considered a life, but it was all she could do, and she wouldn't be stopping any time soon.

Not only was she the greatest medic ever known, unable to accept any damage the alcohol might do to her body, but she also had Uzumaki blood, which helped her heal and would keep her alive for quite a bit longer yet, retired or no.

She intended to keep up this routine until the day she died. If it weren't for Shizune, her apprentice, that day would have been long ago. It was for the girl's sake that she continued to draw breath each day. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving her deceased lover's niece all alone in the world, especially after dragging her all over the elemental nations. The poor medic had no friends or family besides the last Senju and their pet pig, to leave her would crush the girl.

A fine way to honor the man she loved.

No, she'd stay around for the girl, at least long enough for her to meet a nice man- or woman- and start a family. Then, perhaps, Senju Tsunade could die in her sleep. As the world's best medic, it would be child's play for her to shut down her body's vital functions, leading to what would no doubt appear to be a natural death.

Konoha, however, had not been the plan. Sure, it would help her apprentice find friends, but she'd much rather die in some small town where no one knew who she was. Just another traveler who would be dug a simple grave and left to rest in peace. Konoha and the rest of the major hidden villages would never even know of her passing.

And then came an Uzumaki-

So there went all of her own plans.

Uzumaki Kushina had always had a place in Tsunade's heart, even if the woman didn't show it, and she was unable to say no when the Uzumaki asked for her to come back to Konoha. For all the reasons, however, giving checkups to her son wasn't the best to call her back to Konoha for. It seemed almost lame. There were plenty of medics in Konoha who could monitor the boy's health, like whoever it was who told the redheaded woman that her son's chakra coils were having a strange reaction to the Kyuubi's chakra.

Surely they already knew what was going on, there was no real need to have the last Senju come back to keep an eye on the boy's developing coils. Nevertheless, Kushina, being the overprotective mother she was, would accept nothing but the best for her son and proceeded to call for Tsunade's return. The Senju cursed that woman's ability to get her to do things she really didn't want to.

So, she came to Konoha, as she had promised, albeit a day late due to a run in with some debt collectors, and now here she was, lying on the floor in some random room within the Senju compound, determined to get drunk off her ass one more time. So what if she hadn't given the boy a checkup? He just had one and the problem left when his mother and sister did; the boy was in no danger.

If he had any concerns about his health, he would come to her and let her know. Kushina had told her that she left Naruto instructions within the compound. Being the momma's boy he was, there was no way he'd go against them. So, until he came to her, she saw no reason to seek the boy out.

Preparing to start on the next bottle, she was interrupted by the opening of the front door and the voice of her apprentice.

"Tsunade-Sama, I'm back! Come help me put away the groceries!" Giving a sigh, Tsunade rolled over and pushed herself up, pausing only to fix her loose shirt before making her way to the kitchen to help her apprentice.

About halfway through their task, Shizune attempted to start up a conversation.

"Hey, Tsunade-Sama, guess who I encountered today?" Asked Shizune.

Tsunade puzzled over this. Shizune didn't really know anyone here, so it must have been someone with quite the renown. It probably wasn't her old sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, but that still left quite a few possibilities.

"I don't know, maybe Hatake Kakashi? You two start flirting or something?"

Shizune's cheeks immediately went red. "N-no, it was nothing like that, it was a little boy-"

Tsunade quirked a brow, giving her apprentice a curious stare before shrugging. "Well, some girls like 'em young, I suppose.

"Tsunade-Sama!" her apprentice huffed in indignation, pouting slightly as a teasing grin spread over Tsunade's face.

"It was that homeless prince that people have been talking about lately."

"A prince of the homeless? He didn't do anything inappropriate to you, did he?" Asked the Senju. Before her apprentice could respond she continued. "Unless of course you wanted him to. It's good to see you care more for personality than wealth, Shizune, but I think you may be going a bit fast. You must be head over heels for him."

"Tsunade!" Whined Shizune, crossing her arms over her chest "I'm being serious here, stop trying to make this about my love life."

"You mean your lack of one?"

Shizune shot her a dirty look.

"Anyway, you've heard the rumors, right?" Tsunade shook her head in the negative.

"I haven't been out much, you know that."

"Ah, I thought you might have heard them the few times you left. Well, basically, there's supposed to be a young boy, a prince or something, whose family up and vanished. He tried to get into his home, only to be rejected by the security seals."

A bad feeling began to well up within Tsunade as she listened to her apprentice. That sounded suspiciously like Kushina's son. But why would the security seals reject him, had something gone wrong? Did he even know about the instructions Kushina had left him? Her apprentice, oblivious to the unease of her master, continued on.

"He spent two weeks in the hospital, but once he was released he didn't have anywhere to go, so he's been living in the streets. I watched him today, he was stealing from some of the civilians. He was good at it too, and got better as he worked." Her apprentice gave a small grin. "Little troublemaker knew I was watching him and tried to bribe me. Shizune giggled. "Well, I suppose he succeeded, I agreed not to turn him in."

Shizune's small smile turned upside down. "It was kind of sad, actually, that one so young lost everything and is now fighting to survive. I feel bad for the poor boy, though I suppose he's doing well enough for himself as it is. I swear, it's like he was born to be a shinobi, I wonder who his parents must be."

"Shizune," Tsunade's voice was slightly shaky as the woman hoped she was wrong. "What did he look like?

"Ah, He wore an old brown cloak, so it was hard to see his features, but he had hair as red as a sunset and these cold, purple eyes that almost seemed to glow in the shadow of his hood. They were actually quite beautiful; I bet he'll grow up to be a handsome young man."

When Shizune looked to her master, she found the last Senju frozen in terror, causing her to grow concerned.

"Tsunade-sama, is something wrong?"

' _Oh, gods, Naruto-kun.'_

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the show. As usual, updates are on Friday. However, I think I'll do something special for chapter five. Not only will you get an update on Friday, January first, 2016, but I hope to make it at least twice the size of my regular updates. Something to look forward to, yeah? See you all at the next showing of Sealkeeper: He Who Binds.**


	5. Sunset

**Alright, here's that new-year's special I promised. I'm cutting it a bit close, but I'm really just glad I managed to finish it.**

 **Once again, a thank you to ncpfan for his help over the last week.**

 **And now, on to the show!**

* * *

She kept her eyes peeled during her brisk walk, searching every rooftop, storefront, and face within the crowd for the crown of red hair or his brilliant purple eyes. The early morning traffic, as think as it was, offered no resistance as she wadded through crowds that split before her. It was not wise to stand in the way of Senju Tsunade. It was even less wise to do so when she was as distraught as she currently was.

' _Why the hell didn't anyone tell me he had been in the hospital for two weeks, he must have been so scared and confused as he laid there all alone.'_

She knew there really wasn't anyone to blame for that. Few had known she was back in Konoha and she doubted anyone besides herself knew that she had returned at Kushina's behest to keep an eye on Naruto's health.

' _Still, he's an Uzumaki prince and the heir to the Namikaze name, Hiruzen should have brought it to my attention just to ensure his health and safety, never mind the fact that he's my godson.'_ She had to pause her train of thought at that. Did anyone outside the Uzumaki-Namikaze family and the three Sennin even know she was the godmother of the two children? No, probably not. It wouldn't have brought any good to paint an even larger target on the kids, they were already Uzu royalty and suspected to be the children of the Yondaime Hokage, they didn't also need people to know that they had close ties to the Sannin.

' _No one but ourselves to blame, then. I should have checked up on him immediately. If I had picked him up at the academy instead of putting it off we could have avoided this mess.'_

She had to wonder, however, why it was that no one else had tried to care for the boy in her absence, especially when they probably didn't even suspect she was there to keep an eye on him.

' _Kurenai's always been close to the family, Hiruzen's like a grandfather, and I know that Kakashi always wanted a little brother, so why am I hearing that Naruto's been on the streets? This doesn't make any damn sense.'_

Something wasn't right here, or perhaps she just didn't have all the information she should, either way the last Senju intended to get to the bottom of this. No godson of hers was going to be found living on the streets, not when she had an entire empty compound and a Senju treasury she could never manage to empty on her own.

' _Now let's see, where does that woman live?'_ If anyone would know what's going on, it would have to be Kurenai, Konohagakure's Genjutsu Mistress. The woman was like a daughter to Kushina and if the Uzumaki woman had told anyone about the full arrangements made for Naruto then it would be her.

Not for the first time, Tsunade regretted not asking for more information from Kushina when she agreed to monitor Naruto's health. _'I should have known something would go wrong, with my luck and all. If I had to guess, though, Kushina would have left everything within the compound, where she felt it would be safest. Too bad that really doesn't help anyone right now. If her own son can't get in, how the hell will anyone else?'_

Tsunade stopped within the middle of the street, looking up at the roofs until she spotted an ANBU, waving them down.

"Yes, Tsunade-Sama?" They asked.

"Yuuhi Kurenai's house, where is it?"

"The shinobi residential district. Her house is build atop apartment building seven." The ANBU paused, thoughtful. "I have no idea how she managed to have a house built atop another building, or why she would choose to do that rather than buy and renovate a house at ground level." They shrugged their shoulders and pushed the thought from their mind. "Was there anything else, Tsunade-Sama?"

"No, thank you for your help." The ANBU gave a nod before vanishing to finish whatever task they had originally had.

' _On apartment building seven, huh? Interesting. Though, I should expect no less of a skilled Jounin who learned under Kushina. Both she and her husband managed to train an exceptional shinobi, but both turned out kind of odd.'_

Kakashi was a known pervert who was very private and not seen much. He was always late, to the point that he was almost more infamous for that then for all the Ninjutsu he had stolen over the years. The man wore a mask at all times, or so the rumors said, even when he was bedding a woman. No one knew if he even did bed woman, due to his private nature, but there were more than a few woman who claimed to have spent a night with him. Of course, most of them were civilians who claimed that he had shown them his face, so probably less than credible sources.

Kurenai, on the other hand, couldn't seem to decide what she was. On the outside she was cold and uncaring, giving off a professional aura whenever she left her home. Those that knew her, however, were aware that she was a hopeless romantic who liked to read romance novels and daydream about meeting her own prince charming. She often got after Kakashi for the books he read, only to go home and read her own books, which tended to be the same thing only of a lesser quality. She hated perverts, but would have no problem chatting on for hours about her sexual fantasies, or the latest wet dream she had.

The two were great shinobi trained by two of Konoha's finest, but they were freaking weird. Then again, in this line of work, those who survived long enough to become Jounin usually were. They were simply some of the biggest examples.

Of course, then there was Gai, but Tsunade didn't even know where to start when talking about that man's eccentricities. Some things were just better left alone.

Arriving within the shinobi residential area, Tsunade had no trouble locating building seven. She did, on the other hand, have some trouble figuring out how one was expected to approach Kurenai's front door.

' _How the fuck do I get up there? She seriously doesn't expect for people to use wall-climbing or roof-jumping to get to her home, does she?'_ Tsunade shook her head in exasperation. _This is such an impractical setup. What if a civilian was delivering something, or she ended up getting her chakra disrupted or sealed? Hell, even if Naruto tried to come to her for help, there's no way he could make his way up there with no shinobi training, the walls are perfectly smooth for fuck's sake!'_

Growling in frustration, Tsunade placed a foot on the building's wall to begin her ascent, only for her chakra not to stick to it.

' _Apartment building seven is the most secure housing available to shinobi other than clan compounds, of course they would have ways to keep people from sticking to it with chakra.'_

She looked around to find a building close enough for her to be able to comfortably jump onto the apartments from. She didn't find one.

' _Are you fucking shitting me? Not only do I have to climb up another building, but I'm expected to pump chakra out of my legs to be able to jump across?'_ It wouldn't be a small amount of chakra either; Tsunade doubted there were any Chuunin who would be able to get to Kurenai's front door. Giving a withering glare to the house that sat atop the building, mocking her, she made her way to the nearest building.

' _This is bullshit.'_

* * *

Senju Fucking Tsunade was sitting on her couch, in her home, with her, and she did not look happy.

' _This is probably about Naruto-Kun, but that glare looks a bit too irritated for him to be the source. That's more of the 'What is wrong with your home' glare I tend to get.'_

As much as she tried to hold it in, a small giggle escaped her lips. Giving a sly smile, she figured she may as well take this rare opportunity to tease the world's greatest medic.

"You know, Tsunade-Sama, the apartment staircase has roof access." If anything, that little tidbit of information only served to irritate the powerful woman even further.

"That would have been nice to know." Ground out the Senju, making a mental note to find the ANBU who had left that out of his directions.

"It is very common knowledge within the shinobi ranks," She silently included 'and amongst cheap civilian restaurants that deliver' "But I doubt you came here to experience my unique housing."

"That's right, I didn't" Nodded Tsunade. "I came here because I recently came to learn something that was rather surprising."

A feeling of imminent doom began to build up within Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress. Her stomach notted up as her body became numb. She could feel beads of sweat forming upon her brow and had to force her breath to stay even. Hiding the shaking in her hands, she asked; "And what might that be, Tsunade-Sama?"

' _Shit, this has to be about Naruto-Kun. Why couldn't I have just been wrong this once?'_

"Oh, it just seems as though my godson has been living on the streets even though both his mother's and father's students are here in Konoha. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now, would you, Kurenai?" Accused the busty blonde. She was doing a remarkable job at restraining herself, one almost wouldn't be able to tell how furious the woman was.

Kurenai, unfortunately, knew exactly how angry the woman before her was.

"I-I had heard that the compound rejected him," Began the red-eyed woman. "But the last I saw him was a week before Kushina-sensei left, almost a month ago."

"And you haven't sought him out?"

"If I did go look for him, and he came here for help, who would help him? I've been here, ready to help him the second he comes to me." Okay, so that was bullshit, she had gone out to take care of things plenty of times, but she knew she was one of Naruto's last resorts – as much as that fact hurt her- and considering the amount of people within the village, she wasn't going to be hearing him ask her for help anytime soon.

"Is that so?"

Kurenai was beginning to get angry at Tsunade's accusations. Where was she, the world's greatest medic, when Naruto-Kun was suffering in the hospital? Why was she here, talking to her, when she could be out helping the boy who would accept her far more easily than he would herself? Why was she only now learning of these things, when Kushina had mentioned that Tsunade was coming to monitor her son's health? How dare she try to place all the blame on her, he wasn't her responsibility!

"And when, exactly, was the last time you saw him, Tsunade-Sama? His Birth? His second Birthday party? The hospital where he was lying confused and alone? On the street? Safe within your own home? He doesn't even know you, and yet you were supposed to keep an eye on his health." Shot back Kurenai. "Well? How's his health? Is he doing alright? You wouldn't even know. Don't you be trying to make me out to be at fault here. At least he knows who I am and where to find me."

"Then why hasn't he?!" Kurenai looked down to the floor, ashamed.

"We have a rather strained relationship. We get along for the sake of Kushina-sensei, but we're really not comfortable in one another's presence."

"Ha!" Exclaimed Tsunade victoriously. "You claim to be here for him, and yet you know he will never come! He might as well be alone!"

"He might as well" Kurenai countered "Be with his godmother who has been tasked with his wellbeing!"

"I didn't know until last night!"

"And why didn't you? You should have seen him on your first day back, not almost three weeks later!"

"Kushina left him instructions, you know that. I was a day late; he would have made his way to me after the academy the next day. I was waiting for him to come to me."

Kurenai scoffed. "And you didn't get suspicious hen he never showed? I don't believe that for a second."

"I figured someone else was taking care of him. They'd bring him to me when he needed a check-up."

"So you simply assumed the best without checking, despite checking being the sole reason for your return?"

"Hey! I was supposed to give him check-ups, not be his mother. Aren't you supposed to be like his big sister? You should have gone to help him, uncomfortable or no."

"I agreed," Defended Kurenai. "To aid him if he needed it. He has yet to ask for aid, he obviously doesn't need it."

"Quite," Came Tsunade's dry reply. "I here he's been doing well as a thief amongst the Konoha populace. I'm sure Kushina would be proud about how little help he needed from her eldest daughter when it came to obtaining his next meal by risking a nice meeting with the Uchiha police force!"

"And yet here you are, trying to pin all the blame on me while he's still out there without any idea that you could be taking care of him!"

"I'm not here to take care of him! I'm here to make sure his chakra coils develop properly now that he's separated from the residual chakra of the Kyuubi within Kushina and the chakra Naruko's seal is mixing with her own. If anyone should be looking after him it's you!"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "Me? Not Kakashi? Not Kushina's father figure Hiruzen? Not her best friend Mikoto? Not, oh, I don't know, his fucking godmother?"

Tsunade took a deep, calming breath, trying to smother the fiery temper that was building within her. This was not a time to cast blame; this was a time to determine responsibility.

"Look, Kurenai. I'm here to help him, but I can't care for him. He knows you, even if you two have a strained relationship. He's far more likely to trust you than me."

"No, you don't know anything about it. He's sooner to trust an Iwa shinobi."

"I see, but to him I might as well be an Iwa shinobi."

"Tsunade, you need to understand, there's a reason the two of us don't get along well. It's not him, it's me, and my past. I'm not going to share it with you, but you have to believe me, you are the best choice for him right now."

"Kurenai, I'm not here to play mother to the boy. But you, his sister, this is a perfect chance for you to start fixing that distance between the two of you.

"Just because I see Kushina as my mother and she sees me as a daughter, doesn't mean I see him as a brother or that he would see me as his sister."

"Are you saying you don't see him as a brother?"

Kurenai looked down at the floor, contemplative. "No, it's not that. I do see him as a little brother, but I can't be his older sister, I just can't. You have the best chance of entering his life. It doesn't have to be a constant care, but if you could simply offer him a spare room within the Senju compound we'd both know he was safe.

Tsunade thought about it for a minute before nodding. "That would be doable." She agreed. "But he would still need a constant source of guidance."

"There's you, isn't there?" At Tsunade's glare, Kurenai hurriedly continued. "And your student. And if you can convince him, he can always come to me. I might not be able to bring myself to go to him, but I won't turn him away."

"That could work, you'd be like a mentor instead of a caretaker, and I'd be more of a landlady. This is sounding good. I'll keep my eye out for the brat and ask the old monkey what he knows. Just remember, medic or not, I'm sending him to you if he asks about the birds and the bees."

Kurenai flushed but nodded as Tsunade stood up and made her way to the door. "Make sure you keep your eyes peeled too, Kurenai, if you see him send him my way or let me know where you've seen him. We can't help the boy until we've found him."

"Yeah, I will." Confirmed Kurenai as the door shut.

The two had a plan now, everything would be alright

Unfortunately for Naruto, their plan did nothing for him now. Until they could put it into effect it would not help him find his next meal, it would not offer him guidance, and it would not shelter him from the cold.

He was still alone, with no one to look after him but himself. He did not know of the two women's plans and wouldn't have been able to accept something that seemed so much like pity if he did. He would survive by himself in this new life he found thrust upon himself.

And yet, perhaps he wasn't as alone as he may have thought.

* * *

"Sempai-"A raised hand cut the ANBU agent off.

"Don't worry about it; it will be taken care of." The ANBU seemed hesitant and unsure, but nodded anyway, acknowledging the word of his superior.

"Very well, Inu-sempai, we leave this in your capable hands." With that he and his squad mates took off, leaving Hatake Kakashi, student of the Yondaime Hokage, to continue watching the streets. It was not truly the streets which he watched, however, but rather a single person on them.

Kakashi watched as they pulled into a nearby alley, emptying their latest pilfered coin purses into their cargo pants before scrambling up a wall to search for their next targets. Behind his mask, Kakashi couldn't help but grin.

' _He's growing up so fast, Sensei, I'm sure you would be proud of his skills.'_

Now, if only he was skilled enough not to need someone to keep the authorities off his back.

' _All in good time, I suppose. He's escaped my sight a few times already; it shouldn't be too long before he can get away with this without me.'_

For almost a week now he had been watching the child of his Sensei, one Uzumaki(-Namikaze) Naruto. If he was honest with himself, he was rather impressed. The child was not naturally talented, per say, but the rate at which he learned and fixed his mistakes was astonishing, leading him to adapt to his current state quite easily.

Now, being homeless certainly wasn't the life Kakashi had envisioned for the son of his Sensei, but, if nothing else, it was doing a fine job of teaching Naruto to take care of himself. It was for that reason Kakashi did not attempt to directly aid the young boy, choosing instead to look after him and correct issues out of the boy's sight.

Kakashi had been keeping authorities away from the boy, making sure he visited the academy, and had been the one who disposed of Naruto's first kill. Kakashi was proud of that fact most of all. To have killed so early and already be embracing the stealth of true shinobi, this boy was going to be a refreshing change from the last few generations of Konohagakure shinobi.

Of course, the fact that it was his only kill thus far was a bit disappointing, but it was probably for the best. After all, despite what activities they may be involved in, everyone within Konohagakure was a citizen of fire country. Both Naruto and Kakashi were actually rather lucky that no one had attempted to investigate the disappearance. The man had no family of any kind and the few friends he did have had all assumed he had gotten in over his head doing something illegal and had fled for safety in a nearby country.

Though, investigating the death wouldn't have gotten them very fa rat all, not with Kakashi himself having destroyed the body and burned away any blood, both the man's and Naruto's, that had been in the alleyway. Gods Katon were useful in his line of work. There was nothing like a good bit of fire to make everything go more smoothly.

Shaking his head clear of such thoughts, he once again focused on Naruto, who had once again snatched a coin purse off an unsuspecting civilian.

' _You know, at this rate, someone's going to be brining all this theft to the attention of the council soon. He really should take a break for a while, make them all think it was some visitor who had already left for their own home.'_

Choosing his next course of action carefully, Kakashi gave a shrug. Whatever, the worst that would come out of this would be Naruto becoming more cautious, which was a good thing in his book.

' _Ah, fuck it. It's win-win for the kid.'_

Focusing solely upon the boy, he began visualizing him as prey. The effect was instantaneous as the boy froze up, all his instincts screaming at him about a nearby predator. It only took the child a minute –Which must have felt like hours for the poor guy- to locate the one who intended to hunt him.

Once again, Kakashi found himself impressed.

Locking eyes with the child – though his own were shadowed by his mask- he gestured a low-hanging roof between the two of them. Getting the message, Naruto nodded once before making his way there.

Kakashi, on the other hand, took his sweet time. Naruto seemed a bit tense, ready to flee, and was slowly twirling a kunai with one hand, but other than that he seemed rather at ease with the situation. There was no fear, but caution, no hate or malice, but frustration, probably aimed at himself.

When Kakashi had made it to the roof, he did not begin a conversation, but rather stood tall and still, observing the young man up close. Despite his tenseness, Naruto stared right back, his shoulders apart and back straight. The boy removed his dirty brown hood and stared proudly into the empty eye holes in the dog mask that loomed over him.

Even when faced with a vastly superior opponent, he would not back down. Kakashi knew it was not arrogance or even acceptance of his impending demise, but rather a matter of pride for the boy. One was not weak until they deemed their opponent too powerful to fight. If he were to cow under the glare of the porcelain canine before him, he would be admitting weakness and defeat, and to a survivor like this boy, that was unacceptable.

He really was just like his father.

Kakashi stayed silent a few moments longer before speaking. "You're pretty good kid, but just as you raise yourself higher than your targets, both the ANBU and Uchiha police force have a tendency to travel by roof, which is higher than you. In the future, I recommend keeping a better eye on your surroundings."

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the advice, slipping his kunai away and pulling out a sack of coins. Kakashi wordlessly accepted the bag when it was tossed to him, having witnessed the same actions during Naruto's interaction with the apprentice of Tsunade.

"You know, I don't mind you practicing upon the Konoha populace, but at this rate people will start to become suspicious. You need to find another source of income."

"Thank you, Inu-san, for your advice." The boy checked a watch, one Kakashi noticed to be rather valuable.

' _Huh, seems like he's a bit better than I had suspected.'_

It was one thing to cut away the coin purse many within Konoha wore at their waist, it was quite another entirely to remove someone's watch without them noticing.

Making note of the current time, Naruto turned his attention back to the ANBU before him.

"I have managed to obtain permission from Sarutobi-Sama to aid his clan in the keeping of Konohagakure's training grounds and the surrounding forests. I should be able to sell any equipment I recover for a solid price as second hand or scrap. It won't be a large amount, but depending on how wasteful our shinobi are, I may be able to make a decent living as I support myself through the academy years."

Kakashi nodded slowly. It was a good plan, especially when you had permission from the Hokage himself, and the dog-faced ANBU knew exactly how wasteful his comrades were. Years of prosperity made them take for granted the high-paying missions and the surplus of available tools. It wasn't like when he was growing up, when equipment was scarce and you were lucky to go to battle with a full holster of kunai. Hell, back then, getting a kunai lodged into your flesh was actually rather fortunate if it struck somewhere non-lethal.

Free kunai were good kunai, after all.

"Well that's good then, I would suggest you focus on that and only resort to purse cutting when the fields run dry. Give them some time to accumulate new weapons and all that. Now, isn't it about time you make your way to the academy? Lunch ended about an hour ago and if you don't get there soon you'll miss the practical lessons."

A sharp nod was his reply as the boy threw his hood over his head and vaulted over the side of the roof in one smooth movement.

' _You know, that actually looked kind of cool, little thief. If you're not careful, you may find yourself with some fangirls of your own, especially if you grow fully into your parent's looks. They were, after all, two fine looking shinobi.'_

Kakashi was about to turn away when he saw Naruto's arm grabbed and his hood taken off by a beautiful woman in her early twenties. Curious, he watched as she gave the boy a hug before wrapping her arms around his own, pulling him to a nearby café.

' _Well then, it seems I spoke too soon. It looks like you already have a fangirl, and an older woman at that. Well done, little thief, your father must be grinning his ass of in the pure world right now.'_

With a final smirk, Kakashi left to finish his patrol, trusting Naruto to the pretty little prostitute that seemed to know the boy. The kid had been working hard; this would be a good break for him.

' _And to think, he hasn't even met Jiraiya yet.'_

* * *

Silently, he cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid as to forget those who perched above him? He was a predator, but in this village he was also prey. To lose track of such a simple fact was shameful. It was fortunate the ANBU had not seen fit to arrest him and had rather been willing to offer advice.

Naruto, of course, had always known that there were people on the rooftops, but in his confidence that those traveling directly above him were unaware as to his presence he had forgotten that anyone else would see him as rather suspicious, sitting upon the lower roofs as he was. Even then, those who were directly above him would be able to see him every time he went for a target. He had hoped that the crowds he operated in would be enough to shield him from anyone else's gaze, but it looks like he had been wrong.

' _But that dog, he was strong.'_

There was no denying the skill of the ANBU, Naruto could feel the power and confidence leaking off the shinobi. That had been a man who had gone through much only to return stronger than anything he had faced. But, if that was the kind of person who had caught him, he would just have to surpass them.

The hound worked solo on the words of its master, so he would have to be something above the hound, something without a master.

' _A wolf, I need to become a wolf.'_

The wolf was strong, proud, and answered to no man. It prowled the forest, sought prey, and took it down with ruthless precision. But he could not succeed as a lone wolf, as a wolves' strength came from its pack. Without a pack he could be as strong as he liked, but he would never reach his full potential.

' _I need to find a pack.'_

Before he could think more into the matter he felt a hand grab his cloak and pull away his hood. He only just managed to recognize them before lashing out.

' _Tatsuki'_

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement and mischief as she began dragging him to a nearby café. She gave him a dazzling smile, her arms wrapping around his right arm.

"You didn't really think you could hide from me, did you Naruto-Kun?" He gave a quick glance back to where the dog-faced ANBU had been. Seeing him take off, he turned his attention back to the woman who seemed intent on abducting him.

"Not at all, Tatsuki-san. Was there something you needed my help with?"

"Nope!" Cheered the woman brightly. It seemed as though she didn't have a care in the world right now. Naruto checked his watch and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shouldn't you be working about now?" He asked. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shouldn't you be at the academy?"

"I would be, but it seems I am to be abducted instead. Any reason you chose to do this?" She gave him a slight pout. "I've earned enough for today and have nothing else to do."

"You mean to tell me you're just bored?"

"Yep!" Naruto gave a sigh. Why did he have to be the mature one?

"You know, you really are rather childish."

"And you're too damn stiff, loosen up a bit, have some fun." Countered Tatsuki.

"If you're implying what I think you may be implying, you should know my answer already. I'll collect when I'm rerady."

"Aw, spoil-sport. You should know I don't like debts hanging over my head. They have a tendency to bite you in the ass."

"Your debt is to an eight year old, how exactly will that harm you?" He asked. "And it's been what, a week? It will probably be years until I'm ready for such…activities."

"Oh? Are you saying I'm not tempting enough for an eight year-old boy?"

"And now you sound like a pedophile." He used his left hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "Sometimes my maturity seems more a curse than anything else."

"Alright then, mister mature, you can pay for lunch."

"Exhibit A."

She gave him another pouty-face. "Aw, don't be like that. Would it help if I called you Tou-san? Maybe Tou-Sama?"

"I swear, I'm going to have grey hairs before I'm a teen."

She gave a giggle. "It will make you look more regal, don't worry about it. Besides, then people will only assume you're short, not young."

"I'm having second thoughts about lunch with you, Tatsuki-san."

"No, that won't do." The woman whined. "You need to call me Darling or Princess or something. If you don't I'm going to cry, you don't want me to start crying, do you daddy?"

"I preferred your flirtatious side. This childish side, while fitting, does not really become you, Tatsuki-san." She sent him a glare, but remained silent, halting their movement so that they were simply standing in the street.

After a few moments of silence, he gave in and asked; "What?"

Still, nothing.

He gave a deep sigh.

"This childish behavior is not really becoming of you, Tatsuki-Hime." Her eyes brightened in delight as she gave him the biggest grin he had ever seen. Sweeping him up into a hug, she spun him around once before putting him back down and patting the top of his head.

"Good boy, Naruto-Kun. That wasn't too hard now, was it?"

"I'm really not sure you're worth all this trouble. You think we could renegotiate so that I paid for you to stay away?" A quick hit to his head was his response as she gave him a sultry smirk.

"Oh, it's far too late to turn back now, you have to man up and finish what you started. Besides," She paused to indicate her figure. "You'll know exactly how worth it I am once you finally accept what's yours." She looked to him, only to find him searching through his hair.

"What are you doing?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"Searching for my first grey hair." Came his even response.

"Wha-"

"Ah! Found it!" He pulled from his head a single grey hair, which he proudly presented to her. "I hope you're happy, Tatsuki-san. At this rate I won't make twenty."

"Wh-what? But…how…why….when?" The poor girl was rather confused at this and Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her dismay. It wasn't really his hair, but rather one from the ANBU agent he had just spoken to. It was only by chance that it had fallen off the taller man and landed on his own crimson nest of hair.

He wouldn't, however, be admitting that to Tatsuki.

"Alright, now that we've confirmed that you're going to be the death of me, let's get something to eat."

She simply trailed behind him, still trying to determine whether or not she had really started giving the boy grey hairs.

"Come on, keep up!" He called. "It's my treat!"

She instantly sped up to match him. Tatsuki was not one to turn down a free meal, especially when she would get to spend time with her little friend. She had spent much of her own life alone; this new sense of companionship was refreshing. He wasn't trying to get something out of her, he didn't pry about her past, and he didn't seem to judge her occupation. In the presence of this small boy, she could finally relax and be herself, and for that she was grateful.

"Wait up, I'm in heels!" He just laughed, pausing to let her catch up and wrap one of her arms around his own.

' _Is this what having a friend is like?'_ He looked at her pleasant smile and couldn't help but give his own grin at the warmth and happiness that spread throughout his chest. _'I like it.'_

Regardless of how powerful he would become or where his life might take him, Tatsuki would always hold a special place within his heart and mind as his very first friend. He would never imagine anyone else being better suited to it than the childish young woman on his arm.

Deep within a seal, two crimson eyes narrowed.

* * *

Sand, sand, and even more sand. Naruko gave a sigh as she cast her gaze over the horizon.

' _This place is stupid.'_

The land of wind was aptly named, but perhaps 'barren wasteland of nothingness and sandy irritation' would have been a bit more fitting. As the wind one again tried to remove her hood to play with her long blonde hair, she turned to watch as her mother received directions from the captain of the ship that had taken them here.

Rather than go through Suna and crossing most of Kaze no Kuni, the two Uzumaki women had headed north from the fire capital and hired a ship to take them to a port on the far north-western part of Kaze no Kuni.

So as to not lose the natural defense of the desert, Wind Country's capital was not a port city, but rather two days walk from the largest port- Sandfish City. Two days, however, was nothing compared to the month and a half they would have taken trying to get to the capital any other way. The distance itself should only take half that, but constant sandstorms and blistering heat effectively doubled the time it took to make the journey.

Naruko shook sand out of her shoes as her mother approached looking as comfortable as she might have if they were back in Konoha. The young girl had no idea how her mother was unaffected by this horrid place.

"Please tell me we're borrowing horses or something."

Her mother's happy "Nope!" was far too cheerful for Naruko's tastes.

"Great." Groaned the girl. She already knew this was going to be a horrible experience.

"That's my girl, ever the optimist!" Kushina had noticed the sarcasm but, like most negative things, she chose to ignore it. They were on a trip and by the gods they were going to enjoy it to the best of their ability.

"Yeah, optimism, yippee."

It took three days for them to make it to the capital due to an unexpected sandstorm, but they both arrived healthy and safe, if not a bit grouchy.

"I swear, when we get out of here, I'm never going to want to see this damn sand ever again." Naruko was promptly bopped over the head by her mother, who was straining to keep a happy face.

"Language, dear." Chided the woman. Now, where was that entrance?

Naruko took her time to look up at what they had finally come to. She was rather disappointed. Before them was a large ring of mud that stretched in either direction until it faded into the horizon. The top of this mud wall seemed to curve back into itself, as if to discourage those who might try to scale it, but Naruko had a feeling that it had to be something more to it than that.

"Ah, there it is, we must have been set off course by that storm." Her mother proudly proclaimed, pointing to a small smudge in the distance. As minutes turned to hours, Naruko came to learn that the smudge was in truth two rectangular walls growing parallel to the mud ring. The two walls were almost impossible to see, however, as sand had built up on either side, probably from that recent storm. The two women were lucky that the great mass of sand had stuck out well enough for them to take note of it.

There weren't too many trying to gain access to the city between the two walls, so the two quickly passed into the mud ring. Naruko froze at the sight.

She had formed her opinion far too soon.

The city must have extended for miles below her, carved painstakingly from sandstone. The walls were all smoothed down, engraved with great images of the land of wind's history. Everywhere her eyes could see, great bridges stretched from points that seemed random to connect every part of the city together. And then, there in the middle, was the palace.

 _The Emerald Obelisk_ was well named, a giant tower of jade green that rose up from the black depths of the city. Vines of gold and silver grew upon the tower, ending periodically in great ivory flowers blooming proudly in the desert sun.

Naruko was rendered speechless.

"It's great, isn't it?" The girl could only nod in response. Kushina slapped her on the back with a laugh. "Well, come on then, we can appreciate the sights starting tomorrow. For now, let's see about getting us some more appropriate clothes for the climate and finding a good place to spend the night.

Naruko followed her mother for a few minutes before something occurred to her. "You know, Kaa-chan, we're going to have to bring back an entire new wardrobe with us when we return to Konoha.

"Oh, and why's that?"

"Well, I don't know about mine, but I have a feeling that a lot of your clothes will have vanished with Jiraiya having access to the house."

Kushina gave a bark of laughter.

"Yeah, that is probably something he would do." She paused to ruffle the girl's hair. "But don't you worry, Kaa-chan thought ahead and reset the seals so that only the clan head can access them."

"And Nii-Kun too, right?"

"That's right. Remember at breakfast when I gave him that hug while he was eating?"

"Yeah, that was right before your food caught on fire."

Kushina gave Naruko an angry pout, reminded of the mishap.

"Yes, well, while I gave him that hug, I used a seal to copy his chakra signature to add to the sealing matrix."

"So, was that before or after you tried to burn the house down?"

"Why you little brat!" Naruko raised her hands in surrender. With a sigh, Kushina crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know as well as I it had to be after. First I got the signature, then I saved my breakfast, then we both wished your brother a good first day of school."

"And after that we grabbed our things and left to wait for that Tsunade lady you told me about." Finished Naruko.

"Exactly." Confirmed Kushina, turning away. Her daughter's next words made her world freeze.

"So when did you add Nii-Kun to the matrix?"

Kushina's stomach twisted into a million knots as her heart leapt into her throat. A feeling of cold despair and helplessness flooded her being, cloaking her fully in a blanket of shadow that threatened to drown her as it pulled her down into a never-ending abyss.

Her legs couldn't hold her anymore as she collapsed to her knees upon the sandstone walkway.

"No, no, no." She mumbled, desperately trying to convince herself it wasn't true. "I have to have added him, I know I added him. When did I add him?"

If he wasn't added he couldn't get in. If he couldn't get in he wouldn't be able to get her instructions. If he couldn't get in he didn't have access to everything she had left for him. If he couldn't get in, he'd never get her letter.

Numbness replaced the despair, which was quickly overcome by a sense of urgency she had not felt since the Kyuubi had escaped her seal.

No, this was no time to freeze up. Tsunade was in Konoha. Kurenai was in Konoha. Hiruzen, Mikoto, and Kakashi were in Konoha. But she had to make sure. She had to have confirmation that he was alright, that he was taken care of. They all should have a general idea of what was going on, that should be enough to reassure her son that she hadn't abandoned him. She'd be back, just not now, not until he was ready.

Not until she was sure he was safe from **that.**

Launching herself onto her feet, she grabbed Naruko's arm and began to run.

"Kaa-chan? Where are we going?"

"We have to contact Hiruzen, now!"

The two made their way to the mail station with haste, but it would make little difference. To send a letter across the deserts of Kaze no Kuni into Hi no Kuni by bird would take at least a week due to sandstorms and sending it by boat to the fire capital for delivery would take twice that. The two women would spend the next two weeks in Kaze no Kuni's amazing capital, but neither would be able to enjoy it, their thoughts fully occupied by one Uzumaki Naruto and his current situation.

A response from the Sandaime Hokage would arrive at the end of those two weeks, curt and to the point, but it would do little to assuage their worries. Nevertheless, they would press on, determined to follow through with this trip and leaving Naruto to the care of those within Konohagakure.

It was, perhaps, not their greatest decision.

Within the seal, two ruby lips parted to give a grin of pearly white.

* * *

It was a wonderful feeling after a long day of working, training, and dealing with Tatsuki that his dirty clothes melted off his form, replaced by a crisp, clean suit of midnight black.

Walking down the narrow pathway of black marble, he enjoyed the simple pleasure that came with each click of his shoes upon the freshly waxed floor. Soft green light illuminated his path, casting shadows that danced to the flickering of a non-existent breeze.

When he reached the large doors of dark wood he did not hesitate, walking through them just as they opened for his passing, shutting quietly behind the one in control of this realm. He took his place at the empty table and waited for this world's occupant to join him. It did not take her more than a minute.

She walked down the left staircase, her long red dress trailing behind her. She seemed rather surprised to see him there, but that didn't stop a smirk from crossing over those ruby lips. Wordlessly she took her own seat, leaning back with a single brow raised.

After a moment she finally spoke.

"Care to explain?"

"I don't know all that much about Biju, I must admit, but we humans call this an evening meal." Two plates appeared as he said that, seasoned rabbit on rice with a side of sautéed vegetables. It was nothing special or complicated, but seeing as she hadn't eaten since before she was sealed within Uzumaki Mito herself it was rather significant.

"Oh?" She tried to hide her shock and delight, but it was easily read by the young man. "And what do you have to accompany this meal?"

He shook his head, almost remorseful. "Sadly, I still cannot provide you with drinks more suited to your tastes. One of these days I will need to get ahold of something suitable so that we may have a proper meal. "

As he said this, a glass appeared by her hand and began filling itself.

"Tonight, I've decided to go with apple juice."

She laughed. It seemed like such a childish choice for a drink, but that's what he was, a child. It really was far too easy to forget his true age.

"I'm sure it will go well with tonight's meal, warden."

He gave her a grin. "I certainly hope so; I had no idea what to go with."

"You know," She smirked, taking a sip of her juice. "Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut and accept good results as though it was part of your plan."

"A sound bit of advice, Mito, I'll try to remember it."

"See to it you do, young warden. Silence can get you far in life, especially in your chosen profession."

With that the conversation came to a halt, both savoring their evening meal. It was a comfortable atmosphere between the two of them, despite hardly having interacted before, just two people enjoying the fact that they weren't alone.

Despite not having been in much company lately, Naruto still craved the presence of others. He wasn't used to being alone and much preferred a sentient being to his own thoughts. When he was with others he could forget about those annoying doubts and questions that plagued him still, which meant that simple things like a lunch with Tatsuki had become rather welcome.

Mito, on the other hand, had not had much company for decades. Sure, there was the occasional glimpse of outside life that she could pull from her hosts, or the stray thoughts that made their way to her, but that was all second hand. This was the first time in many, many years that she had shared a meal with someone and she was enjoying it immensely.

When both had finished with their food and now slowly nursed their drinks, Mito decided to start up a conversation.

"So, I sensed quite a bit of happiness from you earlier, dear warden. " She began. "Something about a girl by the name of Tatsuki, if I am not mistaken?"

Naruto was immediately on guard, something that caused Mito to frown.

"Yes, that is correct, fox, what of it?" She flinched when he referred to her as 'fox', hoping she hadn't undone all of her work so easily.

"I was just curious, dear warden." She tried to assure him. "Unlike with your sister, I cannot view your memories, nor do I always get to hear your thoughts. It's only when you're experiencing high levels of emotions that I can get a glimpse into the mind of my warden. So, when a feeling of happiness and the name 'Tatsuki' hit me at the same time, I became rather curious as to who this girl could be. She must be rather…special."

"She is the first person I can call a friend. I was rather happy to be able to say so." Mito hummed in acknowledgement but didn't seem satisfied as she leaned back deeply into her chair.

"I see. She must be quite extraordinary to have drawn your attention."

"She is certainly…different." Naruto admitted. "But I enjoy her company."

"Of course," Mito gave a strained grin. "It's important to have those we enjoy being around."

Naruto nodded. "I quite agree."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the pair until Naruto finally spoke up.

"Say, Mito." He began, meeting her eyes. "Before your imprisonment, were you close to anyone?"

She seemed a bit off guard from the question, but recovered soon enough.

"I- well, no, I don't suppose I really did. We- the Biju- had a father, of sorts, but we weren't really close to him. I did spend a lot of time in a human form much like you see now, but even then I mostly kept to myself."

"A pity then." He said rather solemnly. "Everyone should have a pack."

A pack- she thought that was rather fitting for the boy. He was, after all, much like a wounded animal as he tried to survive on the streets of Konoha. If he actually did have a pack, however, he could probably go pretty far. She would be curious to see what would become of such a pack, actually. It should prove rather amusing.

"Well said, warden. Are you looking to start a pack with this Tatsuki?" His rather large blush was more than enough to tell her he hadn't even thought about doing such a thing before now.

"Oh? You seemed so happy with her; I would have assumed you had at least considered taking her as a…mate." His blush grew darker as she grinned.

"W-well," He confessed. "I will need to…erm…partake in her services eventually."

"Services?" The Kyuubi questioned.

"Erm, yes. She's uh, um, a prostitute." Mito began laughing.

"Oh, has the heart of the Uzumaki prince been stolen by the prostitute? It sounds like a forbidden romance novel."

"It's a bit more complicated than that, thankfully. I killed the one who was going to be her client and she refused to accept some of the money he had on him unless she earned it."

"Oh, so what happened?"

"I, uh, offered her payment in advance, so that later when I'm, erm, ready for such things, we can call it even."

"Why, that's an interesting story you have there, little warden. I'm interested in seeing how this ends."

"Yeah, me too, honestly. I have no idea if I'll ever be able to bring myself to accept her services for the night. She's my first friend, I'm not sure I could use her like that."

"I'm sure you'll figure out something." She assured him "Now, I do believe it's time for you to get some rest. You have to get up for the academy in the morning after all, do you not?"

He gave her a nod. "I do. I'll see you tomorrow evening then, Mito." Standing up, he moved to the large doors behind him and disappeared into the darkness of the seal.

He'd be back again tomorrow, and the next day, and every day after that to share a meal with his ward.

She was, after all, his responsibility.

* * *

A deep exhale of smoke came from his mouth as he removed his beloved pipe and set it down on his desk near his hat. It would appear locking him out really hadn't been a part of the plan, he had figured as much, but for her to simply have forgotten to add her son to the matrix? That was just shameful.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen scanned the letter once more. She had quite obviously written it in haste, as many of the questions and requests were repeated several times in this jumbled mess of words. It was almost as if Kushina herself was in the room trying to speak as she sobbed her head off.

Grabbing a spare piece of parchment, he quickly wrote down his reply, covering what seemed to be her biggest questions. With any luck, his lack of detailed explanation might force her to return; he had never supported this little plan of hers, it was just too easy for things to go wrong. She had thought he was just being pessimistic and paranoid, the current evidence proved otherwise.

' _Kushina,'_ He wrote. _'We are aware that Naruto is not accepted by the clan compound, as it activated its defenses on him almost a month ago. He has fully recovered from his injuries. Tsunade did indeed return to the village and was here when the compound rejected him. He continues, to the best of my knowledge, attending the academy. I do not know the extent of your plans for his care in your absence and would recommend your immediate return to sort out everything else.'_

Signing and dating the letter, he sent it back to the capital of Kaze no Kuni, hoping that Kushina would see reason and return for his son.

A week later, his hopes would be proven empty as her reply informed him that she trusted the plans she had in place and knew she wouldn't be able to leave again should she return. They would be continuing with their trip.

Giving a sigh, Hiruzen would toss the letter into one of his desk drawers and hope that Kushina's preparations were as good as she believed them to be.

Because it wasn't as if things hadn't gone wrong already.

* * *

Iruka grinned as he looked at the graded test in his hands. He had been right about that kid; he was a damn fast learner. Considering the fact that he was only here for parts of class and observed the rest from the tree outside, it was rather impressive that he had scored full marks on his tests over the past two weeks.

He had been concerned, of course, about the student who never entered the building, but those fears were put to rest when, on the day of the test, he had climbed up to the second story window and slipped into an empty seat without any of his classmates noticing.

The civilian who was sitting next to him nearly had a heart attack when he finally noticed him.

Naturally, he had left once his test was done, but he had received full marks. The boy must have had some really good eyesight to see and understand what he wrote on the board from that distance or Iruka really was as loud as people told him he was.

He really hopped it was the former.

The boy had come through again when it came to practical exams, quickly demonstrating the required technique and knowledge before disappearing to go do whatever it was he did. Unfortunately, his full marks in exams were countered by his lack of actual attendance and his refusal to appear for any of the quizzes. It was almost as if the boy didn't really care about schooling and only participated as much as he did to confirm he understood what he needed to be a shinobi.

It reminded Iruka of back during the third shinobi war, when students were taught only what was deemed necessary to their survival and success before being shipped off to kill and die in the name of Konohagakure. No one cared what you scored on your quiz, or how many days you may have missed, they just wanted to see that you knew what you were doing.

Naruto seemed to know what he was doing.

And so, one could possibly say that Iruka had taken upon himself a third shinobi war mentality with the boy, allowing him to pass so long as he proved himself capable through the various examinations they had. He would be the lowest mark, of course, but at this point, he doubted the boy cared.

' _Go on, Naruto, show them all what it is to be a shinobi. I look forward to seeing just how far you'll go.'_

* * *

She breathed deeply the multitude of heavenly spices that saturated the small stand as she took a stool, idly scanning the large menu board posted behind the counter for a picture that looked the most appetizing.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's, what can I get for you today?" Asked the waitress, a pretty young brunette that seemed rather happy to be able to interact with a customer. The stand had been empty despite the wonderful aroma that wafted from it; the poor girl must have been terribly bored.

"Whatever you recommend, I can't decide." Came the answer. Her thoughts were far away from ordering lunch, focused instead on her master's odd behavior.

"Alright! I'll have that right out for you!" The girl gave a quick bow before retreating into the back of the stall, leaving Shizune alone with her thoughts.

' _What's gotten into you, Tsunade-Sama?'_ She wondered. A week ago she had told the woman of the little thief she had seen and the woman went into a panic. The following morning she had stormed out of the house as if hell itself was on her heels. She returned later that day looking no more at ease then she had been upon her departure and immediately tried to squeeze every drop of information concerning the little thief from her apprentice.

Shizune still didn't know what it was about the boy that had her master so upset and Tsunade refused to tell her. Of course, if Tsunade wouldn't tell her, maybe the little thief would be able to shed some light on the subject for her.

Someone else entered the stall, sitting a stool away to her left. Looking at them through the corner of her eye, she found a grin make its way upon her face.

' _Speak of the devil and he shall appear.'_

He was covered in his brown cloak like usual, but made no effort to return the red hair that was trying to escape back into the confines of his hood. His purple eyes locked with hers for only a moment before going to the menu board.

"Oh! Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, I hope you haven't been waiting too long." The waitress was back, setting down Shizune's food with a quick "Enjoy" before turning her attention fully to her newest customer.

"I've only just arrived, your timing is impeccable." His voice was rather bland, taking away from what the two women assumed to have been meant as a compliment.

' _Ah, is that how his voice sounds? If I hadn't heard the rumors I'd assume he's just short, not a child who hasn't reached his teens. Still, to talk like that when he's supposed to be so young is impressive, if not a bit off-putting. It's like talking to an adult trapped within the body of a child.'_

"I see." The waitress seemed a bit nervous at this point, and as she kept talking it was easy for Shizune to figure out why. "Well, I'm sorry to have to ask you this- really, I am- but you do have money, don't you? It's not like I think you might be trying to eat and run but with your, um, appearance and all,-"

The unfortunate girl was stopped from her rambling as he sat a pouch of coins on the counter and pushed them over to her.

"I understand completely and take no offence." He said, his voice still even and dull. "I'll take the Uzumaki special."

"The Uzumaki special?" Asked the waitress, surprised that he even knew of that particular unlisted menu item. "Are you sure? It's rather large and pretty pricey."

He waved off her concern. "I am familiar with the dish, thank you."

' _So, he's got some sort of connection to the Uzumaki. Could it be as easy as him being an Uzumaki prince? It would make sense, I guess, but the last Uzumaki I knew of was Uzumaki Kushina. It couldn't be her son, could it?'_

Lost in thought as she was, Shizune didn't realize she was staring at the boy. He, however, was well aware.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to blush in slight embarrassment.

"Ah, sorry, I was lost in my thoughts." She paused. This was a good an opportunity as any to sate her curiosity. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, do you think you would be willing to answer some questions I have?"

She could barely make out the brow that rose within the confines of his hood. "I do not see any harm in you asking."

"Well, it's just that I mentioned running into you, and the rumors that have been going around about you, to my master. Once I told her about your hair and eyes she seemed rather distraught. I asked her about it, but she won't tell me. I was hoping you might be able to tell me about your connection to my master."

"I have very few connections outside my immediate family, and even those are rather strained at the moment. What is the name of your master?"

"Senju Tsunade."

"The Slug Sannin?" He sounded just as confused as she was. "I do not know of any personal connection I might have to the woman, but it is possible she knew one of my parents."

"I see." Frowned Shizune, slightly disappointed. That told her absolutely nothing. "You mentioned your parents, you wouldn't happen to be an Uzumaki, would you?"

The question seemed to hurt him, as he flinched. "I am of…Blood-relation to the Uzumaki, yes."

' _Ah, stupid Shizune, he mentioned his family relations were rather strained at the moment.'_

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories."

"Its fine, I need to accept them anyway. Hiding from reality isn't going to help me any. Did you have any more questions?"

"Just one, if you don't mind. I heard that you found yourself alone and locked out of your compound. Did your family really abandon you?" Even as she asked it, she regretted it. What could have possibly driven her to ask such a question when he had already shown a bad reaction to the simple mention of his family?

The boy stood up and turned to leave, pausing at the flaps of the stand. It was quiet and she almost missed it, but the emptiness seemed to echo within her very soul.

"I don't know."

He stood a moment longer before speaking at a more audible tone. "Your food's going cold; you should enjoy it before it does."

And with that he left into the bustling streets of Konoha.

Shizune felt like hitting her head against the counter.

"Alright, here we have-" The waitress paused, confused at her customer's disappearance and turned towards the only one in the stand.

"I, uh, may have asked him some questions that made him uncomfortable."

"Oh, so you scarred off my customer, did you?" Shinobi or not, Shizune found herself terrified at the irritated waitress before her.

"He left his coin pouch." She pointed out weakly, only to watch as the young civilian worker casually knocked it over the counter so it fell out of sight.

"Really?" Asked the girl. "Then where is it? You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"I-I'll pay for it." Oh gods this was going to empty her wallet; the bowl the girl was carrying was massive!

"Damn right you will, did you want that to go?"

Ichiraku Ayame was someone Shizune vowed to never cross again.

* * *

As he sat upon the gates of Konoha and watched the sunset, Naruto couldn't believe it had been two weeks already.

' _No, two weeks since I was released from the hospital, it's been a month.'_

One month ago his family had vanished without warning and now, a month later, Naruto couldn't tell how he felt about it.

He had been confused, scared, sad, and even angry at the thought of the two that left him, but as he spent his time finding his next meal or scavenging for some equipment to practice with, he found that such feelings really didn't help him.

Perhaps he just needed to accept it, to move on, to find himself a new family, a new pack, but thoughts of his two suns still lingered within his heart and soul.

' _Will I ever be free of them? Can I really cast them away as easily as they left me?'_

His eyes were drawn to the dying light of the sun.

' _Every sun must set, I suppose.'_

But another thought hit him.

' _A sun may set, but it does not disappear. Each and every star is someone's sun; perhaps those two are simply someone else's now.'_

It was time for him to find a new sun, a new purpose, because whatever the reason, his suns had disappeared, and there was nothing he could do about it. They might rise again one day, appearing within his life without warning, but he'd deal with that day when it made itself known. Until then, there was nothing to do but keep moving forward.

With a sigh he stood, determined to find a place to sleep for the night. Once he found it, it would be time for an evening meal with his ward. Mito had become a comforting constant in this new life of his and he was grateful for it. She was a fixed point, unchanging, and that allowed him to center himself.

Without her, all his days would blend together in a never ending quest for his next meal or somewhere warm to sleep. Without her, he feared he might lose himself within this new life. Without her, he'd probably be little more than an animal at this point.

Being honest with himself, Naruto didn't know what he would do-

Without her.

* * *

 **See you all next week.**


	6. Silver Candles

**And we're back! The foundation has been laid, so we're about ready to start gaining some speed. Special thanks for this chapter goes to** **DragonPony022 for their dance scene idea [Though it's probably quite a bit different than what they had in mind] and, as usual, ncpfan who looks over all my work before I post.**

 **As of last chapter, this has become my longest posted story, so we seem to be doing well. This would also have to be my most constantly updated story, as the others were really just as I felt like it which, trust me, really isn't a good system.**

 **Well, I've just about run out of things to say, so on with the show!**

* * *

Slowly it clinked through the grass, twisting and writhing in serpentine patterns as it approached its target. It emerged from the field of green, contrasting easily in glowing blue and striking like a serpent of lightning.

Naruto allowed a small smirk to grace his face as his chakra chain went through the hole of a kunai and wrapped itself around tightly. With a mental command it returned, its prize in tow. He placed the Kunai within his bag before moving the chain to wait behind him.

' _How was that, Mito?'_

" _You're improving."_ Admitted the voice that only he could hear. _"But you still need a lot of practice, your chains react slowly and you have trouble controlling more than two individually."_

' _Yeah, I suppose you're right, I've got a long ways to go.'_

Over the past year he had found himself growing rather fond of his ward, something only helped when she began teaching him the techniques of her original jailer Uzumaki Mito. It was amazing to hear what the woman had been capable of with those chains and his respect for the woman had grown immensely despite never having met her.

More important than her teachings, however, had been her simple companionship. She was always there. Always able to offer advice. Always able to listen to his troubles. Always there to let him know that in this world he didn't have to be alone.

That was not to say he was always alone, but it was still a rather rare occurrence to run into those he knew, and for good reason-

He was trying not to be seen by the inhabitants of Konohagakure.

It wasn't that he had anything against them, but rather his own form of training. After all, if you could live as a ghost within the greatest shinobi village in the world, you were miles above the rest. He really wasn't much of a ghost when it came to the village's upper echelons, but he might have well been when it came to civilians and fresh Chuunin.

He was rather proud of that.

Of course, there was one civilian who always seemed to be able to find him, and she took every opportunity she could find to pester him. He really didn't mind all that much, though. Spending time with Tatsuki always seemed to lift his spirits. There was just something about the way she acted that never failed to bring a smile to his face.

For the most part, those he encountered were shinobi. He often ran into Inu, who seemed to be keeping an eye on him, and various other ANBU, usually sent by the Hokage himself. The great monkey had been giving him plenty of space, but liked to check up on him from time to time. At first, Naruto had suspected that it had something to do with the Sarutobi head's closeness to his mother and sister, but these days it seemed more like curiosity than anything else.

Naruto saw Iruka almost every day for class, but interacted with the man perhaps once a week for exams. His classmates seemed to have gotten used to his odd behavior and constant absence and were no longer surprised when he slipped into a seat from the window. That had actually taken three months, which was rather irritating. They were going to be ninja for fuck's sake, why were you startled when the same person came through the same window to enter the same seat for the same reason each time? If anything, they should have taken advantage of it and used it to try to prank him. Fortunately for him and even more fortunately for any wannabe prankster, no one had tried anything yet.

There was one other person he encountered rather regularly, and that was Kato Shizune, apprentice to Senju Tsunade. He didn't know what to think of her, honestly. She seemed an okay person, though one who didn't have much experience with people. Considering she had been following Tsunade around fire country, never staying in the same place for long, it was understandable. Other than her master, she probably didn't speak to many of the people she met more than once. She also seemed pretty restless, probably more so than normal. Before she had been traveling around, now she was just wasting time here in Konohagakure.

If he had to guess, she probably joined Tsunade for the chance to see the world and experience all that she could, she just seemed like that kind of person. It must have been terribly disappointing to then spend the next decade of her life learning medical techniques in between running from debt collectors and watching the last Senju get drunk off her ass.

He actually felt a great bit of pity for the poor girl.

Then there was the matter of the girl's master.

Apparently, she claimed to be his godmother, according to Sarutobi Hiruzen. The Old Monkey would neither confirm nor deny it, claiming to want to stay out of this, and Naruto was rather appreciative of that. He'd been living on his own thus far; he could make his own decisions.

Hiruzen had admitted that Kushina and Tsunade had known each other, so it was a possibility, especially considering Tsunade's sudden return so close to Kushina's departure, but he also said that Kushina had been rather secretive about any and all arrangements involving her family ever since the Kyuubi incident nine years ago.

When Hiruzen had then asked if he would like to meet the woman who was looking for him, Naruto had quite politely declined. After hearing a drunk Shizune air all her grievances about the woman, he had no desire to meet her, godmother or no. Perhaps, if she came to him, he would be polite and make conversation, maybe even over a nice meal somewhere, but so far all she'd done was ask the Hokage to keep an eye out and send him her way. Obviously, she really didn't want to meet with him. This felt far too much like someone doing the absolute minimum to be able to say they did something, and he wouldn't be having any of that.

He didn't know what obligations she might be trying to fulfil, but for all he cared she could choke on them. He had his own problems to worry about and some lazy old drunk sure as hell wasn't going to be one of them.

Speaking of searching for him, though, Kurenai seemed to be trying to locate him. She, he could understand. She had always acted oddly around him, but there was always this sense of guilt that came afterwards, as if she was aware of her actions and regretted them despite not being able to change. There must have been something bigger going on, but whatever it was he did not know and probably never would.

Avoiding her, then, was in her best interest. If she did meet with him she'd continue with her strange behavior and become guilty once more. It really was a vicious cycle, and seeing that he really didn't want to have to deal with her odd actions, it was something he was more than willing to help her with by staying as far away as he could.

" _Nonsense, I only had a basic understanding of how these chains were supposed to work, the fact that you managed to use them at all is still impressive. You just need more practice still. It's easy to use a million chains in the same way, but controlling multiple chains in different ways is like suddenly finding yourself with new limbs, it's going to take some time to get used to."_ He could hear her giggle deep within the recesses of his mind. _"Just think,"_ She teased. _"You still need to learn how to use them as you move. That should be fun."_

Naruto groaned at the thought. That was not something he was looking forward to.

" _That's the spirit!"_ Cheered the fox.

' _I'm glad you find this funny.'_

" _Oh, I most certainly do. So, while we both admit you need more practice, perhaps you should stop trying to use them while you try to earn a living. I'm all for you getting good, but this is cutting into your productivity."_

He gave a sigh. She was right, as usual. He had hoped that by using the chains to help him clear the training grounds he would both get practice and gather enough to pay this month's rent, but so far he'd gathered only a dozen kunai, which would maybe cover today's meals. He had a lot more to do if he wanted to get that rent out of the way so he could focus on other things.

' _Yeah, you're right; I need to stop messing around. There's work to be done.'_

As his chain dissipated into blue light, he set about maintaining the great forest, or whatever bullshit he had told Hiruzen. Those old clans were full of shit, always trying to insult each other with compliments. It was like a competition to see who could jerk the other off better, but even if you won you still just gave someone you didn't like a hand job.

* * *

Honestly, she should have known how shit of a plan that was. It had been a year, an entire freaking year, and Naruto was still out there doing who knows what to survive. Every search was fruitless, none of the ANBU would tell her anything, and the Hokage was less than helpful, telling her something about giving the boy some space. He didn't need space, he needed help.

More importantly, she needed to help him, to make up for all those years of being unable to bring herself to have any sort of positive relationship with him despite being so close to the rest of his family.

Giving a sigh, Kurenai fell back onto her couch.

This whole thing was just a giant mess. First Tsunade arrived a day late, then Naruto ends up in the hospital, the compound has Naruto homeless, Kushina decides to continue her trip, and now neither she nor Tsunade could find the boy.

' _How hard is it to find the one person within all of Konoha with bright red hair?'_

Something needed to be done to find him, but what? How could she possibly find the boy who seemed so intent to stay hidden. She really couldn't blame him, though. The world was scary, no wonder he was hiding.

' _Maybe I could draw him out somehow?'_

No, that wouldn't work. She hardly knew him, much less what would make him feel safe enough to emerge from wherever he was taking shelter. She could try to henge into Kushina and pretend she had come back, but that was already a horrible idea that could only go terribly wrong in a multitude of ways.

There had to be somewhere he frequented. A store, or a friend's house, or….

She slapped a hand to her head.

He was going to the academy, for fuck's sake. Here she had been over the last year, wandering the streets of Konoha for signs of the boy, but he would have been in the academy learning to be a shinobi while she was out looking for him. No wonder all her searches had come out empty handed.

Never before had she felt like such a moron.

' _If Anko ever learned.'_ Just the thought made her shudder. She'd never hear the end of it from the snake mistress. Considering she had recruited the woman for a few searches, she'd probably be at the end of the woman's ire too.

' _I'd rather not be at the other end of her hidden snake hands, thank you very much.'_

Well, at least now she knew where to find him, the only problem left was making contact. She could wait out in front of the building like some of the parents, but he might not be to appreciative of that. He'd be even less pleased if she tried to draw him from classes. Naruto never seemed to want attention and that would be an excellent way of bombarding him with it.

' _Maybe he could miss a day, or at least an hour or two. I could wait for him there in the morning.'_

It was better, but that still didn't feel quite right. Maybe she could ask Iruka about him. Everyone knew how close she was to his family, it would make sense for her to check up on his academis from time to time with his mother away.

' _Yeah, check up on him once a year, that's perfectly normal.'_ Well, it wasn't as if she had any better options, and if that didn't work she could resort to ambushing him before class. Better yet, if he walked in while she was speaking to Iruka then she could pull him away, at least for a few minutes, to tell him about the arrangement she and Tsunade had come up with. Surely he'd appreciate being told that he had a room in the Senju compound ready for him.

It was settled then, she'd stop by the academy first thing in the morning.

Everything was going to be just fine.

* * *

"Again!" She called, watching as the young blonde girl continued to train under the glaring sun. It was hard work, and she was proud of her, but it wasn't enough. The past year had been hard on Kushina, thoughts and doubts about the wellbeing of her son had haunted her without end, but she couldn't go back, couldn't make sure he was okay, couldn't wrap her arms around him and tell him it was all right.

But she wanted to.

Gods she was tempted, but she stayed strong. They couldn't go back, not yet. And so, she made good use of the trip.

"Once more!"

Naruko would be trained to insane levels for a girl her age and would return ready to protect their home of Konoha as the new head of the Uzumaki. And then Kushina could devote all of her time and attention to Naruto, the next head of the Namikaze. And by the gods she would train her son until he surpassed his father. She would make damn sure that she made up for leaving him behind, as necessary as it was.

Until then, however, she would focus on Naruko and her training. Her basic shinobi skills were coming about wonderfully, but compared to what would need to be taken care of soon, this was nothing.

It was not easy to control the chakra of the Kyuubi, but as its Jinchuriki Naruko would need to learn how. That and that alone would take up the majority of this training trip, but once it was done she could be confidant in the safety of both Naruko and her brother.

"Alright, that's enough. Come take a seat and get some rest." The young girl didn't bother coming over, instead choosing to collapse right where she stood in the field of grass they had been training in.

"Or just stay over there." Sighed Kushina as she walked over and dragged her daughter back to their little base camp.

As Kushina looked down at her daughter, she couldn't help but smirk. She had fallen asleep, completely exhausted from the training.

' _Just like a true Uzumaki'_ Thought Kushina. _'Training until they collapse.'_

Words may not have been able to express the pride she felt for her daughter, but her thoughts still lingered on her son.

' _I haven't heard anything from Tsunade, but she really didn't want to do much in the first place. I suppose expecting regular updates was a bit much.'_

It was a bit disappointing that she hadn't been told anything about her son's wellbeing, but at the same time no news was good news and she was confident she would be notified if anything bad happened.

' _I still wish I knew how his health was, Tsunade hasn't given me her opinion on the matter.'_

That was rather important, a key factor in ensuring his safety. But, until Tsunade told her otherwise, she'd have to trust the rather alarming theory given to her by the young medic she had met at the hospital.

' _Chakra maturity happens around twelve, which is why academy graduation is so young, so I have at least three years before I can be sure its developed properly away from the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra.'_

One year had been far too long to wait; another three was going to be an unbearable torture, but she'd make it through, if not for herself, then for the sake of her children.

As much as she wanted the family to be together, she had to do what was best for them all.

No matter how much it hurt.

* * *

The familiar sense of comfort and belonging filled his being as he took his first step on the black marble flooring of his world. It was not really his world, not truly, but with his control over it, it might have well been.

The pale flickering light bathed him in its green glow as his footsteps echoed down the walkway. There was a scent in the air, like pine trees and spice, but there was something else that lingered in the air, an aroma he couldn't put his finger on, which was odd. This world became what he wanted, so why didn't he know that smell?

With quick steps he continued into the main dining hall, only to raise a single brow at the fact that it was bigger than he remembered, grander. Instead of a room with just a long table, he had walked into an entire ballroom. The table, he idly noticed, had been moved along one of the walls.

"Like it?" His attention was drawn towards Mito as she descended the stairs, her red dress trailing behind her.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit confused. I was unaware that you could change anything in this place."

The woman giggled as she reached him, looping one arm through his own and leading him to the table. "You've been giving me a lot of leeway recently, even if you don't realize it, so as long as my changes don't go against your own desires, they'll stay until you take the time to change them.

He looked around, noting the brightness of the room. It was rather out of place in this world, so it was the first thing to go. As the lights dimmed and white and gold color scheme turned to red and black, Mito pouted.

"So I guess you don't like it. You could have just said something, you know."

"Say something about what?" He questioned, gesturing around the room. "I love what you did to the place." She hit him on the arm rather hard for that one, but he only grinned and turned them away from the table.

"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously, looking back to the table they were leaving behind.

"What we are doing is dancing." He answered with a grin. A piano replaced the table, filling the room with soft melodies. "You went through all this trouble to make this lovely room, I thought it would be a pity not to put it to good use."

"And we can't eat first?"

"We could, but I'm still trying to think of something to serve, this is mostly to buy me some time."

She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Were you lying to me about putting my hard work to good use?"

He scoffed. "Absolutely not." He denied. "I'm putting it to good use in buying myself some time."

"I see." Mito laughed. "In that case, let's buy you some time, hm?" She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Instantly the two were reminded of their height difference.

"Perhaps," Naruto began. "This was not the best thought out plan. Maybe we should go back to dinner."

"Oh no you're not, mister." Frowned Mito. "You promised a girl a dance and by the gods you're going to give it to her."

"As much as I'd like to, I don't think this is going to work. Unless you have a plan of some sort, I'm not really comfortable dancing with my head between your breasts."

"Aw, trying to take away all my fun? Fine, I suppose if it makes you feel better, I can change. Just remember, I'm changing just for you." With a grin, her features melted away, leaving her as a twelve year old girl. Naruto, being rather tall for his age, was just barely taller than her. At his inquisitive stare, she grinned again and gave his cheek a quick kiss.

"Just because this seal keeps me in a human form doesn't mean I can't change the appearance."

"And you didn't think to mention this earlier?"

"You're far more easily flustered when I'm in my usual form, why would I ever give that up? Now, enough talk, let's dance." Moving her arms over his shoulders and around his neck again, she was immensely pleased when he didn't hesitate to place his own hands on her hips.

She gave him a smirk. "You know, you seem far more comfortable and straightforward when I'm younger, maybe I should have used this form from the beginning."

"If you had," Naruto admitted as they began swaying to the music. "I would have believed it to be your true form and would have assumed the older you was made exclusively for the sake of making me uncomfortable."

"And you don't think I can make you uncomfortable in this form too?" She leaned in closer, placing her head right next to his ear and gave it a quick lick. As he recoiled in shock she gave him a smug grin.

"I think I would have been more comfortable with your other form doing that, despite the fact you would have seemed like a pedophile." She gave a pout.

"Come on, don't say things like that, Naruto, you're only a pedophile if you like children. I don't like children, I like you."

"Still makes you a pedophile."

She gave a quick giggle, one that he noticed fit far better with this form then when she was an adult. "I'm a child right now, silly, that makes everything okay."

"You take entirely too much enjoyment from doing this."

"What can I say?" She asked. "I like to see you flustered."

"You and Tatsuki both, it would seem." At his mention of the Yamanaka prostitute her countenance seemed to darken for a moment, but it quickly cheered back up before he could notice.

"What can I say? It's a lot of fun, and you just look so adorable when you're all red."

Frowning, he took a quick glance about the room. "I wonder if it would feel the same in a more public space."

She shot him a questioning glance.

"I'll admit, I tend to get a bit nervous and uncomfortable when I'm alone with a beautiful woman. Maybe some company would make it easier to enjoy this."

As soon as he had spoken they appeared, two dozen spectral figures that shimmered silver like the moonlight. They all gave a quick bow to the two true occupants of the seal before partnering up and beginning dances of their own. Mito could only stand there in amazement.

"How?"

"You should know by now, Mito. I'm the master of this manor, whatever I say goes."

"So you said you needed guests?" he gave her a smirk of his own, one remarkably similar to her own smirks.

"Indeed. Now, let us dance." Moving one hand from her hip to take hold of her own slender fingers, he began dancing properly with his partner in this court of spirits. The already dim lights vanished, leaving only the faint silver glow that came from his conjured guests as if he had created dancing candles to surround him for the evening.

"I didn't even know you could dance." Admitted Mito sometime later. He gave her a grin.

"I didn't know you could either. Truly this is a night that should have happened long ago. I'm actually a bit surprised we didn't think of it earlier." Mito raised a delicate eyebrow.

"And who's to say we didn't? Maybe this has all been an elaborate scheme I put into place to give me the chance to dance with a young gentleman for an evening."

"Then I would have to apologize that instead you received a young boy."

"You're a gentleman enough for me." She rested her head on his shoulder as he held her tighter, the music slowing.

"Then I'm glad your scheme has come into fruition." He smiled. "I'm more glad that I was the one you caught. Life just wouldn't be the same without you, Mito, I'm happy to be able to spend time with you like this.

"And I'm glad I received such a wonderful warden."

As the guests faded away to give the two some privacy, leaving them bathed in the soft glow of a nonexistent moon, a single tear made its way down her cheek unseen.

' _Such a wonderful warden.'_

* * *

Candles flickered within the room, dancing to the echoing screams that filled the darkness, but he paid the screams no mind. They were a constant here, deep beneath the earth. Here, in his den, in this land he ruled, he was not bothered by anything, because everything that happened was by his will.

Truly this was as close to godhood has one could achieve.

For now.

That would change, in time, but for now he was content with his realm and his control. It was a refreshing change from his past, where everything he wished to do had restrictions and laws and ethics to stop him. There was none of that here, no, here there was only success, only progress. Hundreds of people worked as one towards a common set of goals.

His goals.

Just as it should be.

Another scream tore itself from the throat of its unfortunate creator, the cost of knowledge, the price of power. He was more than willing to pay for it with the lives of others. After all, what other use did they have? Was he expected to leave them to live mundane lives that brought forth nothing when they could instead be used to advance himself and his people even further within this cruel world? He would scoff at such a foolish notion.

Here in his world of darkness, only his continued survival mattered. Everything else was expendable. The world itself was expendable. But there was one thing, one single being upon this world other than himself, who was not expendable. Someone protected by oaths and promises made years ago, long before he had left his village to create his own.

Yellow eyes moved to gaze at the picture hanging upon the wall, flanked on either side by small candles that assured the painting was always visible. Bright purple eyes shone back at him, wisdom and maturity within that betrayed their age. Pale skin, like the full moon, was contrasted by the crown of crimson that framed a face that had to be of noble blood. The upper body was covered in a black robe tied shut with a red sash, a large dip revealing that the pale skin continued down past the sternum.

The brows were thin and relaxed as pale lips were set into a disinterested frown. The entire image spoke of a royal figure and indeed it was. A soft smile came to his lips as he looked at it, this painting he often referred to as the 'Blood Prince'.

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto stared back at him.

"I've heard some interesting things." He told the painting. It remained silent.

"They say you've been locked out of your home, that the queen and princess ran off on some grand adventure and left you to fend for yourself." He paused, as if to let the picture have a chance to speak. It chose not to take it.

"You know what else I've heard? That it's been an entire year already since it happened. Imagine that." He seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Though I suppose you seem to be doing alright for yourself. It's amazing how fast they grow. First they're nothing but a defenseless baby, then they're living on their own in a blink of an eye."

"I don't think I've ever sent you any birthday gifts, have I? Your mother never would have let you keep them, I suppose, but she'd not there anymore, is she? No, she's not, and unless I'm mistaken, you had your ninth birthday recently. Such a big boy you're becoming, little prince, I'm sure your father would have been proud, if the fox hadn't killed him."

"Yes, I quite agree, it was a tragic loss, he was a good man. Very powerful too. Then there were his looks- you'll probably inherit those. I'm sure you'll be a real lady killer when you've grown a bit."

"You know, you would make an excellent prince here in my den, I'm almost tempted to invite you to live here. Though I don't suppose many would take kindly to that, at least not before you claim your father's name at least. After that it's your choice, but they probably wouldn't like it any better. In fact, they'd probably hate me more because of it."

"What an interesting thought, them hating me more. I'm not entirely sure that's even possible. Time will tell, however, my little blood prince, but for now, I should see to getting you a gift to make up for all those I've missed."

"Now, what might you like? Weapons? Money? Power? Women? Slaves? A palace of bones? Perhaps, before I get you this gift, I should first get to know you. I have enough people in Konoha, it wouldn't hurt to have one or two of them turn their attention to you."

"Just be a bit more patient, Naruto-kun, I'll have a gift for you soon enough."

' _Yes,'_ He mused. _'Soon enough.'_

Deep within his den echoed the laughter of Orochimaru-

The godfather of one Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

 **Act VII will be showing on Friday, January fifteenth. I hope you can all make it to the show.**


	7. Massacre

**Welcome back to the show, dear audience. I hope you're ready for tonight's performance. As always, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help developing the plot. My writing wouldn't be nearly as flavorful without his seasoning. In fact, it would probably end like my last bunch of stories, but we try not to talk about those.**

 **Anyways, on with the show!**

* * *

The house was empty, and yet she could still feel the tension that seemed to saturate the air when her family was home. Sasuke was, thankfully, oblivious to what was going on, but unfortunately that didn't mean he would be unaffected. No, she doubted anyone would be unaffected by that which was going to come to pass. At least, no one from Konoha would remain untouched by the event that was so soon to be taking place.

Regardless of the success or failure of the attempt, nothing would be the same afterwards, of that she was sure.

Kneeling as she was before her table, she let her eyes be drawn outside the window where the last breath of fall still lingered lik the voice of a lover. It would be winter by the time they went ahead with the plan, the cold, dead landscape would be painted masterfully with the blood of innocents and the flesh of those who hungered for that which was never theirs to take.

It would not dissuade them from trying.

Even now, as she sat in her home thinking, countless clanmates scurried about the compound to prepare. Meetings, which started out in secret once a month between a select group were now nearly every day and between anyone old enough to lift a kunai. She did not want this and would have no part, and so she remained in her home, unable to leave due to the clan's fear that she may betray them to Konohagakure, the very village they themselves were looking to betray with their hostile takeover.

It was a foolish idea, the both of them. There was no way they'd be able to take over, not with the Sandaime Hokage in charge and with Jiraiya so easily recalled. They would have to be swift if they wanted any chance of success, if they had not taken complete control by the time Jiraiya was notified and had the toads of Myōbokuzan reverse summon him to the village, everyone bearing the fan crest of the Uchiha would be slaughtered.

There was also no way she was about to approach Sarutobi Hiruzen, the god of shinobi, and tell him that her clan was planning to kill him and take Konohagakure for themselves. Her eldest son seemed to be doing a well enough job of that already. And that left her, a 'traitor to the clan', between her husband, the one who came up with this foolish idea, and her eldest son, who was a spy for the Konohagakure council and was actively working against his own family.

Uchiha Mikoto was not liking this in the slightest.

Almost as if the universe just wanted to add a cherry on top of all her troubles, Kushina, her best friend and probably the only one who could possibly help her out of this situation, had left Konoha on a trip with her daughter and had left those she knew with only the faintest idea as to what was going on.

It was just like the woman.

But, if that hadn't been good enough for her little cherry on this sundae of misery and misfortune, Kushina had left her son to continue the academy, expecting him to live in the compound and be checked up regularly by those who she was close to. That was fine, a bit odd, but nothing too unusual for Kushina. And then everything seemed to have gone wrong.

Naruto was locked out of the compound, no one who should have been checking up on him had any idea where he was or what he was doing, and she was stuck here in the compound, unable to help him in any way. Though, she supposed, her being trapped in the compound mattered very little, as even if she could leave, it would be too dangerous to drag him into the mess. The child seemed to have enough trouble in his life right now; he didn't need her and her clan adding to it.

Of course, talk of him being seen on the streets had faded away, leading her to believe that even if someone hadn't taken him in, he had managed to find somewhere to live and a way to support himself. More power to him was her opinion. If he could make a life for himself by the age of nine after finding himself with all his worldly possessions stripped away from him soon after his eighth birthday then he was certainly something special.

She was a bit impressed with her friend's son.

And a bit jealous of her friend for having such a son.

Though, if all this somehow managed to blow over- a miracle, to be sure- she would definitely see about bringing him into her family, even if only as a close friend. Sasuke could use the company of other people and she wouldn't mind having a third son to fuss over.

That was all hopeful dreaming, however, as it was never going to happen. But at least it gave her something to occupy her time with. If she was stuck in here for too much longer she'd probably go mad.

She gave a deep sigh and turned to her tea. Noting the lack of heat, she frowned. Had she really been lost in thought for so long? Picking it up, she went to the kitchen and placed the cup in the sink to wash later. She really didn't feel like doing it right now.

Instead of returning to her seat in the kitchen, Mikoto walked into the living room, sinking deep into the light blue couch. Massaging her forehead with her fingers, she let out another sigh.

This was all so frustrating.

"If only there was a way to fix this mess." She mumbled. She had not been expecting any sort of response-

She received one.

"Oh, there is, it's why our master sent us." Startled, Mikoto's gaze shot to the speaker. The image that greeted her was an odd one, a man who was half white and half black. A velvety maw of green flesh seemed to be trying to devour his head as if it were a Venus fly trap. In this strange world of shinobi, she could very well be looking at a plant with the face of a man.

"I am called Zetsu, and our master would very much like your assistance in fixing this mess."

Cautious, she responded, fingering the kunai she always kept within her clothes.

"And who is this master of yours?"

The man grinned and even the plant around him seemed to open its maw further in imitation.

"I'm quite sure you know of him, Mikoto-san, he is, arguably, the most famous of your ancestors."

* * *

These people, they were so oblivious it actually hurt. Could they not feel it in the air, this wind of change? Something was coming, something big, and it would be coming soon. Yet here they were, thousands of oblivious insects carrying on with their daily lives as if everything was just the same as it had always been.

A distasteful frown pulled on his lips. This was supposed to be a shinobi village, so why were the civilians so ignorant as to the shinobi who whose village they occupied? The Gennin may have been out of the loop, but even they could tell something was off by the tension they witnessed within their superiors.

Did civilians simply not notice the Chuunin traveling in packs numbering no less than three? Did they not see how Gennin were herded about the village in groups of two teams or more, both Jounin keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings, ready for the tension to snap at any moment? Were ANBU, swarming about like a hive of angry hornets, not a clear enough sign that something was going on?

Apparently not, because nothing had changed for the civilians.

It was pathetic.

It was maddening.

He couldn't stand it.

Turning from the streets bellow, he began running over buildings, nods of acknowledgement given to each and every shinobi he passed. Most were not returned, the shinobi populace of Konohagakure wound too tightly for simple niceties.

He continued until he reached the training grounds he frequented. In the past few years there had been no Gennin team thirteen, and so this field lay empty, a perfect place for him to practice. And practice he did, every day, without fail.

Removing his shirt, he stuffed it into his bag, which would stay on his person for the entirety of his training. Not only did it make things more difficult, but it would ensure his belongings remained where he could protect them. He had lost everything once; he was not keen on the idea of starting again.

As he began with his laps, he was unaware of the eyes that watched him from the trees.

* * *

Shizune gave another huff as she stalked through the streets, avoiding the swarming crowds of cheerful civilians. Why was it so hard to find that boy? It had been easy enough to find and watch him last year, had he left the village in that time? No, that didn't seem likely. And yet she still couldn't find him.

She'd hear about him from time to time, mostly in the light chatter of the higher-up shinobi, but few others seemed to see him. There was, from time to time, talk of him being seen dragged around by some prostitute, but she paid those no mind.

What nine year-old sought out a prostitute? Unless, of course, the prostitute had been looking for him. There were many in the world with rather odd tastes, but if something like that were to happen she was sure Naruto could take care of himself.

He seemed to be doing a well enough job.

She had told Tsunade of her encounter with the boy at the ramen stand a year ago and her master had not been pleased. Apparently as time went on her master had become more and more nervous about his well-being. The fact that Shizune had been right there and able to bring the boy back with her but didn't only served to make Tsunade more frustrated.

Of course, Shizune had no idea why her master was so interested in the boy, and even to this day Tsunade refused to tell her any more than it was important to find him. They had no luck in that regard. It was almost as if he knew he was being looked for and purposely went out of his way to ensure he remained away from those who wished to find him.

As rumor had it, however, a certain ANBU captain seemed to interact with him regularly. Maybe she should let Tsunade know, she was still looking for the ANBU who had failed to tell her fully about Kurenai's unique dwelling, after all.

Two birds with one stone- and then Tsunade's ire wouldn't be directed at her anymore.

So, three birds, even better.

* * *

Okay, so she had put it off, sue her. Standing just outside the classroom door, Kurenai looked around nervously. This was it, she was going to see Naruto, she was going to tell him about his room in the Senju compound, she was going to let him know that she was there for whatever it was he needed.

' _Calm down girl, you've got this. He may be a bit upset, but he'll understand, he'll be happy to know that these arrangements have been put in place. You can take him to the Senju compound personally, sit him down on the bed, and have a nice long talk explaining everything. He's an Uzumaki, they always forgive. There's no way this could possibly go wrong.'_

Well, technically, it already had. While she originally planned to come in early and be here when he first arrived, it had taken her until noon to get over her nervousness and make her way to the academy. Hopefully she could catch him as they were released for lunch. And, even if she couldn't catch him before he ran off, she could get some information from Iruka and lie in wait for Naruto's return. If he had been going to the academy for all this time, despite his lack of living arrangement, she was absolutely certain he'd come right back for class once lunch ended.

As the sound of rushing children grew louder, she stepped to the side of the door and watched the mass of students that squeezed through the frame, keeping a sharp eye out for Naruto's messy crown of red hair. Oddly enough, it was not amongst the sea of children. Giving a slight frown, she hoped he was still in the classroom as she walked in.

She was quick with her scan of the room, taking only a second to move her sight to Iruka, but still she could not locate the reason for her visit. She felt a deep weight settle in her stomach and a tightening in her chest. He had to be here, there was nowhere else to look.

"Ah, Yuuhi-san, is there something I can help you with?" Iruka's voice caught her attention and she tried to give the man a sincere smile despite the worry building within her.

"Yes, I just came to see how Naruto's been doing in class. It's been a year now and I haven't heard anything about his academics, so I figured I'd come check."

A brief flash of suspicion flashed over Iruka's face, no doubt from her taking so long to ask about such a subject. He most likely knew that reason was a lie. Still, he looked up to the ceiling, as if in thought, and briefly directed his sight to the tree outside the window. Turning back to her from a frown, he seemed almost puzzled.

"I'm sorry, who? There's no one I know of by the name of Naruto attending my class. I do believe there was one on the first day, but then he ended up in the hospital and I haven't heard anything of him since."

Kurenai suddenly found it hard to breathe. All the hope she had gained at the thought of finding him here in the academy, safe and ready to be taken care of was crushed, leaving only a numbing cold inside her heart. This couldn't be happening; she had been so close she could almost feel the heat of his hand as she walked with him to the Senju compound.

That heat was no longer a pleasant thought, but rather an angry inferno that berated her for being so foolish. She had assumed he would have continued, she had heard rumors that he was still there, but she had never before checked.

He wasn't there.

Honestly, she shouldn't be surprised. He was a homeless nine year-old, for fuck's sake, why would he be trying to go to school? It made no sense. Quietly, almost in a whisper, she thanked Iruka for his time and walked out of the classroom like a living corpse, all life having been sucked away.

Kushina would be disappointed in her, she was sure.

She had failed Naruto once again.

She never saw the boy she had been searching for as he sat in the tree right outside the classroom shaking his head in the negative to his instructor, nor would she know of the grateful expression he sent Iruka after she had left.

But the eyes that watched the boy did, and they made note of the interaction. Orochimaru-Sama would want to know.

* * *

This was getting out of hand; Hiruzen was beginning to fear there would be no way to erase the tension between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha. It had been growing for years, all the elite shinobi knew so, but now it was beginning to get to be too much. Tensions were boiling over, but Hiruzen couldn't figure out a way to douse the flames of the Uchiha peacefully.

It was probably a miracle that things had lasted peacefully thus far, but that would have to be attributed to one Uchiha Itachi, a spy within his own clan for the safety of Konohagakure and all its inhabitants, the Uchiha included. Whether or not they believed it, Hiruzen really did want to see everyone safe despite the fact that they threatened the safety of his village, but they wouldn't let him.

The Uchiha pride, it would seem, was a hard thing to overcome.

Luckily, Itachi had somehow managed, though that was probably because of his mother. Uchiha Mikoto had never been all that prideful, caring far more about starting a family then the glory of her clan. It seemed to have rubbed off on Itachi, who saw all of Konoha as his family and was ready to sacrifice everything he knew to protect it.

Such a man was a rare thing indeed, especially among shinobi.

And now, it looked like they might be losing him.

They didn't have a choice, however. This was for the good of Konohagakure no Sato and Hi no Kuni, he couldn't sacrifice everyone else for one clan, no matter how old or important they were.

Looking before his desk, he could see Itachi kneeling before him in his ANBU gear, awaiting orders. It pained Hiruzen to give these orders, but that was the burden of his position.

"We'll give them a few days, Itachi, until the end of the week. If we haven't managed to work something out by that time your mission will begin." He frowned sadly at the young man.

"For what it's worth, my boy, I'm truly sorry it may have to come to this."

"I understand, Hokage-Sama, but we must protect the innocents my clan threatens. This is the only way." Giving a parting bow, the young ANBU agent disappeared in a murder of crows.

Hiruzen sighed. No one should have to go through what Itachi was about to. It wasn't even something he'd wish upon his enemies. Not only would he have to slaughter his family, but he'd be marked a traitor to preserve the good name of the Uchiha and sent off to act as a spy in a growing organization of missing ninja.

This world, Hiruzen thought, was far too cruel.

He was not the first and certainly not the last person who would have that opinion.

* * *

It was three days later that she found herself back in her home. The sink was still occupied by a single lonely cup filled with cold tea, which meant no one else had been home in that time.

' _They didn't even know I was gone.'_

It was a sad thought, but she already knew they were keeping as far away from her as they could. Sasuke had been spending his days at the academy and sleeping over every night at his cousin's house, Fugaku's way of keeping her from turning him against the rest of the clan. Couldn't her husband see that she had no intention of opposing the clan, she just didn't want to take part in the takeover? It would seem not.

Fugaku himself had been spending all his time locked away in the sacred Uchiha shrine plotting with the elders. She hadn't seen him in nearly three weeks.

Itachi had popped in a few times, but it was usually to ask about what his father was up to. It hurt to know that her son not only assumed she was ignorant of his actions, but would try to use her to spy on his father and the Uchiha clan.

Moving to the window, she gazed out into the night. Oddly enough, there was no one outside at the moment and all the usual lanterns hung dead in the moonlight. That was strange, even with everyone on edge in anticipation of what was to be the Uchiha Revolt, never before had there been a night so eerily quiet .

When she watched two shadows creep into a nearby house, she knew something was wrong.

' _Hiruzen moved first.'_ She realized. It wasn't really that much of a surprise. He was a kind old man who wanted nothing but the best for his village, but he was also the Kami no Shinobi, and he would do whatever necessary to protect it- even from its own occupants. In this case, removing the threat so that the rest of Konoha might remain safe was the only real choice he had. Fugaku must have pushed him far to force his hand like this.

Wasting no more time, Mikoto quickly made her way upstairs to her room, tearing through her closet until she found her old shinobi gear that she had stashed in the back upon her retirement. Not willing to waste time she didn't have getting undressed, her favourite dress made quick aquaintience with one of her kunai and was tossed away.

She had been in ANBU for three months before her retirement and had managed to keep her old uniform. Throwing it on with haste, she hoped it would be enough to throw off Hiruzen's men long enough for her to reach Sasuke and flee the village. If she knew anything about the Sandaime Hokage, however, it would be that when he did something he put his all into it. The streets were most likely crawling with ANBU, the village wall only more so.

This was not going to be easy, but she'd be damned if she was going to let her son be taken from her. Itachi was a lost cause at this point, probably slaying his father at this very moment deep within the Uchiha shrine, but Sasuke had no idea what was going on, he was innocent in all of this. She was going to make sure he got out of this safely.

Luckily Naruto had not been dragged into this, otherwise she may not have been able to get both Kushina's and her own son out of the village. Naruto may not have been Uchiha, but no one in the compound was going to be living to see the dawn if her eldest son was successful in his mission.

Mikoto strapped her trusty tanto to her back and pulled her old crow mask over her face. Stepping to the window, she perched, ready to take flight into the night.

"Look out, bitches, Mommy Crow is back."

Having not used chakra in so long, her first burst of chakra to her legs was too much, causing her simple leap to become a large bound that fully cleared the house she had intended to land on. She held back the screech that wanted to tear itself from her lips with the sheer humor of the situation.

' _It's been a bit since mommy last flew.'_

Landing in a crouch she rolled forward and dashed over rooftops, now using far less chakra than she had before. She passed a single ANBU, but they didn't seem to realize who she was, allowing her to pass without incident, a fact for which Mikoto was rather grateful. As her graceful launch from her house could attest to, her wings were covered in quite a bit of rust from all those years spent as a house wife.

' _I really should have practiced from time to time.'_ She thought. _'Gods above, I certainly had plenty of free time. I can't remember how many times I had no idea what to do with myself all day.'_

Those thoughts might not be worth much now, but they served to keep her mind occupied on something other than the fact that all her family was being slaughtered around her.

Landing on the roof of her brother-in-law, her heart sank when she noticed the various bodies scattered over the street below. They had already been here. Calming her breathing as much as possible, she listened for any sign of life, either Uchiha or ANBU. It seemed empty, but that would mean Sasuke was- No, she couldn't be thinking like that, not at a time like this.

' _Gods, no, please, not my son. Not Sasuke.'_ She silently prayed, slipping into the window and beginning her search. The top floor was empty, save the corpses of a couple on the bed. It wasn't her in-laws, and she really didn't recognize them, so there must have been some guests over. Ah, that's right. Her niece was turning fifteen. This was probably her birthday celebration.

' _Happy fucking birthday.'_ Mikoto thought cynically, moving on. The downstairs was filled with even more dead partygoers, but she still couldn't find her son among them. The front yard was full of dead lanterns and tables of food that had barely been touched. Her niece, the birthday girl, was near a pile of half-opened presents. Still, no Sasuke.

He wasn't here. The thought brought both relief and horror to her. She was glad to not come across his corpse, but at the same time it meant he could be anywhere. With luck he was somewhere the ANBU hadn't gotten to yet, but that meant the ANBU would be going there. She couldn't risk that kind of heat. So, if he wasn't dead already, he would be soon enough.

' _And you will be too if you try to find him.'_ A voice in her head reminded her. It looked like this was it. Soon there would be only three Uchiha remaining; Itachi, Herself, and **Him**. He had been right, she knew, the Uchiha's attempt would be their undoing. She had believed him when he told her that, but now she really saw. Her clanmates hadn't even had a chance to try. The Sandaime gave only enough leeway to ensure that no Konoha came to harm, but the second he felt the risk was too high he had acted, taking out the problem before it could fully take root.

She let a single tear make its way down her cheek, hidden by her mask. Her family was gone, everyone she had known and loved ripped from her. She was alone, without anything more than the gear she wore, and had nowhere to go.

Her mind was drawn to someone in a similar situation and she knew she had to at least see him before she made her escape. Gods willing, visiting with him and letting the village calm down might make her escape far more likely to be successful. If nothing else, it was worth a chance, and he deserved to know why she hadn't been there for him, even if they had never been close. She was close to his mother, and that was more than enough reason for her to look after him in her absence.

If Mikoto was really honest with herself, the chance to visit someone who knew the pain she was currently feeling was one she couldn't pass up on. If anyone could understand her and help her come to accept what had happened it would be the boy who found himself locked out of his home with no possessions and no family or friends to rely on.

Perhaps, they might come to comfort each other.

* * *

There was something strange in the air tonight. Something within him screamed not to ignore it which was why he had taken perch upon a single story building just outside his small apartment.

' _The ANBU are moving strangely tonight.'_ He noted. Their usual pattern had been abandoned as they seemed to swarm on every available surface. Something was up, and he didn't like it. Watching a nearby group of them bolt away, his frown deepened. Something was happening, and it was close.

It would seem as all the tension that had been building finally snapped, giving birth to this night.

' _It's actually a rather nice night.'_ He thought. The sky was clear of clouds and a crescent moon laughed down at the world, as if amused by the ANBU buzzing down below like a hive of angry bees. He supposed that if he were the moon he'd be amused too. There wasn't too much that happened in Konoha at night, such action must have been a welcome change for the heavenly body.

As if they had been waiting for his thoughts to wander, he was suddenly made aware of an approaching person. They made little effort to conceal themselves as they dashed towards him in the opposite direction the ANBU had just run off in.

No, it was an ANBU, a woman judging by the curves of her body. It was strange, however, as he thought he had seen all the ANBU at least once. He couldn't recall ever seeing one in a crow mask. As they drew near a single hand reached up to the mask, tearing it away to reveal a face he could vaguely recognize.

' _Ah, she's a friend of Kushina. An Uchiha, I think.'_

The woman's eyes were red and puffy, she had obviously been crying as she raced across the rooftops. She didn't seem hostile at all, so his kunai remained away. He was not defenseless, however, as a single chakra chain coiled up at his lower back like a thin tail. If she was going to try something, he was ready.

She did indeed try something, but it was in no way harmful to him. When she had gotten within six feet she launched herself at him, wrapping two slender arms around him and burying her face into his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. Her crow mask dropped from her hands with a soft clink as she held onto his shirt with all her strength.

At a loss for what to do, he rubbed small circles on her back until her sobbing had subsided. Even so, she remained clinging to him like a lifeline.

"Come on, tell me what's wrong-" Her name came back to him and he quickly added it. "Mikoto-san."

The fact that he knew her name actually seemed to make the woman relax and through chocked sobs she manage to reply. "They're gone, everyone is gone."

"Whose gone?"

"My clan." Naruto couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes and didn't even try to. The Uchiha clan was gone? That was huge. But there was a reason they were gone, he doubted they just up and left the village they helped found. Something got rid of the Uchiha, and he was out here holding an Uchiha woman in his arms. Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, he knew what the only possible course of action was.

"Alright, come with me, we're going to go inside so you can tell me what happened, okay?" The woman nodded into his neck as he stood up, pulling her with him. As he helped the emotionally drained woman into his ground floor apartment he failed to look up, and so when his apartment door was shut and locked he had no idea that a dog masked ANBU dropped onto the spot he had been just minutes before.

Having been keeping a vigilant eye on the boy, Inu had seen everything, but, as he tucked away the dropped crow mask, he pretended to have seen nothing.

* * *

 **And so another performance ends. I hope to see another full theater next week for chapter eight.**


	8. Blood of the Sun

**I almost didn't manage to finish this one. I've been sick for almost a month now and this ended up taking me nearly twelve hours to write, which is absolutely ridiculous.**

 **Again, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Now, on with the show.**

* * *

It was a lot to take in, the planned coup and subsequent eradication of a founding clan, and Naruto found himself almost unable to wrap his head around it as he sat upon his worn couch with a distressed Uchiha clinging to his side like a lifeline. It was certainly understandable. To have been cut off from the outside world for a year by your own clan and then to be there as they were slaughtered for the safety of the village would leave anyone seeking comfort from whatever source they could find.

His left arm continued to rub soothing patterns over her back as he tried to keep her from breaking down again. The wounds were fresh enough; it must have been like pouring salt into them for her to tell him everything she knew about the event so soon after it. In this mess she was just an innocent bystander and while he was sure there were many more in a similar position to the Uchiha matriarch she was the one who would have to suffer.

His gaze traveled over her porcelain skin and the midnight hair that cascaded down her back and over his arm. Here was a woman who resembled the night itself, once a shinobi of the highest caliber, but as she tried to burrow deeper into the warmth of his body he could only see a child awakened by a nightmare. He gave the woman a pitying frown.

' _If only it were a nightmare,'_ He thought _'So that the light of the morning sun might wash away your suffering.'_

"Thank you." He almost didn't hear her whisper over his own thoughts. Turning back down to his guest he found he gazing up at him, her eyes still marked by the tears that had escaped her midnight eyes.

"For what?" He inquired.

"For listening. It hurt, but I needed to tell someone- I needed to accept it." She buried her head back into his side. "I don't have the luxury of time to come to terms with this."

It was a sad truth. Even now the regular ANBU were probably being made aware of the massacre, as if their own had not been behind it, and would no doubt be identifying all the bodies they could. Once they learned of her absence amongst the deceased they would no doubt begin searching for her. Should the search be kept under wraps she might manage to escape for at least a few years, depending on how tenacious Konohagakure proved to be. If they made the knowledge public, however, things would become far more complicated.

They might try to find her just so that the Uchiha clan remained in Konoha, keeping her safe and trying their best to regain her favor, but that was far too optimistic for Naruto to believe for even a second.

They could act as though they intended to go with the first course of action and then proceed to kill her or they might impregnate her until she gave birth to a son who could be used to bring back the Uchiha, but that was assuming they even wanted the Uchiha back.

The last, and perhaps most cruel, option they had would be to place the blame upon her troubled shoulders, allowing the kinslayer Uchiha Itachi to walk free and continue serving Konoha. It would probably break the poor woman and would guarantee that she would never have a moments rest for the remainder of her life. Suicide within three years was the most likely result.

"Speaking of time," He murmured softly. "What's your plan? They'll start searching soon enough and I can't support us both for very long until I can start taking missions." As much as that was true, with her curled up into his side as she was he was fairly tempted to attempt it anyway. It had been a while since he had such physical contact. With Mito contact was dancing, which they both enjoyed and partook in often, but being in the seal it always lacked a certain realness that took away from the experience. When it came to Tatsuki it was usually just her pulling him along or wrapping her arms around his as they found somewhere to have a quick lunch together. It was nice, but it was nothing like having this woman wrapped around him as they sat on his couch. There was something that felt far more personal in this situation.

For a moment he was reminded of the hugs his moth- no, Kushina used to give him, but he quickly crushed those thoughts. Such memories only brought forth pain and the woman at his side had enough for both of them at the moment.

"There was someone I talked to before it happened." She turned her head to look back up at him again. She looked so lost, so fragile, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if that's what he looked like when he woke up in the hospital over a year ago. "He knew it was going to happen. He says he has a way to fix it all, the whole world, but he needs my help. I just don't know if I should trust him."

"You shouldn't." He hadn't hesitated for a second to share his opinion. "Trust should never be given so lightly." How odd was it, that he had taken up the role of adult and she a child. It was strange how such similar situations could change people in vastly different ways. Then again, they had been different from the start; there was no true way to compare changes between the two of them.

"But then," He continued. "Perhaps that's all the more reason for you to join him. You don't have very many options and someone needs to keep an eye on him, wouldn't you say?" He could feel her nod into his side and as much as he felt for her misfortune, he couldn't help but be thankful that it had given him this opportunity. Almost as when he saw Tatsuki after he had killed her client, there was a need to care for this woman. This, however, was far more strong. Something about her vulnerability and the fact that she had actually sought him out of all people stirred something within him. He didn't know what it was, but he liked it.

"I'll go then." She declared. "And I'll do what I can to let you know what he's up to." There was something in her eyes now, not a fire, but perhaps a spark. She had purpose now, direction, which is far more than she'd had just an hour before.

"You don't have to tell me what he's up to." He tried to assure her. He really couldn't care what this man was trying to do, be it for good or ill, but it would hopefully place Mikoto out of harm and give her something to do with herself.

"I have to tell someone." Countered the woman. "You're the only one I can trust right now; the only one I have left."

That struck something within him. There was sadness, of course, pity for the misfortunate woman, but there was also a certain happiness and hope that came from those words and a shameful guilt that came from letting her current situation give him such pleasant feelings. To feel good about being the only one a person had left to turn to was wrong. For you to have only met them a handful of times and not have any sort of relationship with them was horrible.

"You know, Kushina is out there somewhere. I'm sure she could offer you help if something goes wrong." He felt her tense up beside him.

"Just like she helped you?" The acidic nature of her voice caught him by surprise, as did her defensiveness of him.

"I heard about what happened and I wanted to be able to help, but I wasn't allowed to leave my home. I know your mother made plans, but everyone who was a part of those plans should have known that they immediately crumbled the instant you were locked out of the compound.

I know that Kurenai and Tsunade are still here, that they were a part of your mother's plan. I don't know why they weren't there for you in the beginning, but I know they still aren't. If either one of them had people would have talked. Hiruzen must have known too, he probably sent word immediately to Kushina. For her to have not returned immediately-" The woman shuddered, holding him with all her might.

"She must have had a reason for leaving you, but no reason is good enough for a mother to leave her child. I can't call a woman like that my friend, not when she didn't even try to inform everyone as to what was going on so that we could help you while she continued. I could have forgiven that, but not this, not abandoning such a wonderful child to plans that were already in tatters."

Naruto found himself speechless. He had no idea what to say to that and most definitely had not been aware that she cared so deeply for him despite only meeting him a handful of times. Then again, she and Kushina were said to have been like sisters, it would not be hard to imagine her thinking of herself as his aunt.

"Come on," He said after a minute of silence. "Let's get you to bed. You've had a long day, you need to rest." He couldn't explain the sudden protectiveness he felt for the woman when she spoke so strongly against this hand that fate had dealt him, but it was unlikely to go away anytime soon. Both Mito and Tatsuki had quickly found their way into his heart, but that was nothing compared to the speed at which Mikoto had just crashed through like a train and established herself a part of.

A deep sorrow washed over him as he helped her up. She would be gone, probably first thing in the morning, and he might never see her again. How cruel this hand to give him someone like Mikoto only to immediately pull her away. It would seem that this was to be a reoccurring theme within his life, a boy fated to forever meet those who would be taken from him.

Banishing such thoughts he continued to the bedroom, helping Mikoto onto his bed. There were more important things for him to focus on right now. He was not the only one with problems, and hers were far worse. He started with her weapon pouches, setting them and her tanto gently on the floor by the bed. Arm and leg guards were removed, placed neatly by her shinobi equipment. Next came her vest which, while embarrassing, was nowhere near as embarrassing as removing her skintight shirt.

Averting his gaze, he removed her shoes.

He was tempted, for a moment, to leave her in her pants, but when she began trying to remove them his choice was made for him. Folding the pants and lying them atop the rest of her uniform, he was going to look for a shirt for her to wear when he found himself grabbed and dragged into the bed. Slender arms snaked around his body and as he tried to remove himself they only tightened further.

"Don't go." She pleaded. It would seem that in such a short amount of time she had begun to see him as a source of comfort, one she was unwilling to part with after such an emotional night.

"I need to find you a shirt."

"It's fine like this," She insisted. "we're just sleeping."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."

"Please don't go, I don't want to be alone, not yet." Uncomfortable or not, he knew what it was to be alone. If his presence would spare her for just tonight then how could he possibly deny her?

"Very well," He surrendered. "But I need to change first." Her grip grew stronger.

"Promise you'll let me hold you?" If he had not already decided to give her this comfort the defenseless plea that came from her lips would have made it impossible to resist.

"I promise."

"As an Uzumaki?" Naruto was well aware of that which she spoke. Was she really so vulnerable in this instant that she would ask for such an oath just to be able to sleep next to him? He felt a spark of anger towards the Sandaime. The massacre was most likely the only course left for the man to take, but for it to have taken so much from this woman was unacceptable. The next time he saw him, Naruto would be sure to bring up the cost of this night.

"As an Uzumaki I give you my oath that I'll let you hold me tonight." That seemed to satisfy her as she released her hold and let him slide off the bed. Quickly, he discarded his pants and shirt. His intent had been to grab at least a pair of shorts to sleep in but a soft whimper from the broken woman in his bed made him abandon the thought.

He slipped back into his bed and was immediately captured within her embrace. At first he didn't know how to react to his situation, but as time passed and her breathing grew soft he found himself relaxing into her touch. Safely cocooned within her arms, pressed tightly against the warmth of her soft body, Naruto quickly surrendered himself to the land of dreams.

* * *

A lot of energy had returned to her by morning Naruto had noticed as she prepared to leave. She had woken up around ten, late enough for most of the ANBU activity to have calmed down substantially. Everyone would be on high alert still, but that was likely to be the case for the next few weeks, this was the best chance she was going to get.

After a quick shower she had thrown back on her old ANBU uniform and made the two of them a small breakfast with what little was in his fridge. She had tried to leave immediately afterwards but he wasn't about to have that.

"What?" She asked, looking down at the boy-no, young man before her.

"I said take what you want." He gestured around his apartment.

"I can't do that Naruto-kun-"

"You can and you will." He insisted. "I have time enough to replace anything you take. At the moment your need far outweighs my own."

"But-" Anything she might have said was cut off by his stern gaze. He wasn't backing down about this, even if he had to throw everything he had into a bag and tie it to her back.

A fair share of his remaining food, his spare blanket, and whatever shinobi gear he had yet to sell found its way into a bag. Before she could sling it over her shoulder she found herself covered by his tattered brown cloak, which reached just past her waist.

"It's not much of a traveling cloak," He gave her a small smile. "But it's the best I have." As soon as she had it secured over her shoulders she swooped down and gave him a quick kiss to the forehead.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun, for everything. I'll do my best to stay in touch."

"Then I look forward to hearing from you. Stay safe, Mikoto." He hugged her around her waist and easily slipped his purse into her shiruken pouch. Breaking away, she ruffled his crimson crown once before slipping out his door and into the bustling late-morning streets of Konoha. She was going to have it pretty hard at first, needing to slip past the hokage tower and into the forests behind the hokage monument, but after that it should be far less difficult for her to follow the coast northwards until she reached a port city near the capital. If she could make it that far wityhout being caught then she could easily make it anywhere in the world.

With a fair bit of luck, the forests around the monument would have been checked first- for the safety of the Hokage- and when no evidence of her passing turned up in the early morning they would have hopefully directed their attention to the forests closer to the Uchiha district itself. Nowhere else would make any sense- though there had been some squads deployed elsewhere just in case- and so the majority of available forces would be directed from the Uchiha district to the borders of the neighboring countries.

It was going to be a long week for the shinobi of Konohagakure.

Feeling he had waited long enough, Naruto grabbed his own bag and left his apartment. His destination was very different from Mikoto's, mainly in the sense that his destination was the last place she would want to be right now. Slipping in and out of the crowd, it only took him a few minutes to arrive at the Uchiha clan district.

Purple eyes quickly noted the stationed ANBU, but many of them were facing away from the district, probably to stop people from entering. Within the district itself he could see a few moving about collecting the bodies of Uchiha clan members. Little surprise there, the sharingan was not something you wanted to fall into the hands of your enemies.

Finding an opening in the wooden fence, he quickly slipped through, pausing at each body that had yet to be collected to check for wallets, purses, or anything else of value or use. Moving to the first house, he could faintly see two ANBU from the corner of his eye. Not seeing the harm in his actions and not wanting to have to do anything about it, one shrugged to the other before the two turned away from him.

Had they not been so helpful, they may have seen him grin as he pulled out a stolen storage seal and got to work on the house.

* * *

"Ah, Uzumaki-san, thank you for coming." Greeted the Sandaime upon his entrance.

"Of course, Sarutobi-Sama, I know that you would not call upon me for anything not of significant importance to this village our clans call home."

Hiruzen winced slightly. He should have expected such from the boy. It would appear they were to start immediately with the clan-speak. Maybe he had taken the use of his clan name as a sign that the meeting was clan natured. Next time he'd start by calling him by his given name.

"Indeed, Uzumaki-Dono, but it is not so urgent as to require the abandonment of pleasantries within our conversation. Would you care for tea?" The boy looked skeptically at the pot resting above the Hokage's desk. Schooling his features, he returned his gaze to Hiruzen and gave him a small, polite, smile.

"I'm afraid I must decline your most generous offer, Sarutobi-Sama, but I thank you all the same. "

Such little trust.

"Of course, Uzumaki-Dono, perhaps there is a certain refreshment you would prefer upon our next meeting?"

"I have little preference for drink, Sarutobi-Sama, but perhaps you might allow me to provide you with refreshments upon our next meeting, I would very much like to return the hospitality of you and your clan."

"It's quite alright, Uzumaki-Dono, as the Hokage I quite insist that such refreshments be provided by myself in thanks for your time."

"While I am grateful for such a sentiment, Sarutobi-Sama, as a resident in our wondrous village I am merely doing my part. I insist that you allow me to treat you in thanks for all that you do for me and my clan."

Mentally, Hiruzen applauded the boy. He had practiced over the year but Naruto was still matching him. If nothing else, at least, that strange edge the young boy seemed to have over him during their previous encounter seemed to have lessened significantly. Of course, maybe now he could turn that edge around. With a vicious internal grin, Hiruzen made his move. Gods had he missed this game.

"When you put it like that, who am I to decline such a gracious offer?" He gave a kind grin despite his desire to show his opponent just how happy he was with his next move. "In that case, perhaps you would be so kind as to bring a bottle of wine or two for us to enjoy during our next meeting? Unless, of course, you are unable to procure any, in which case I would be most willing to open my cabinet and share with you some of my better years."

The calculating look in those amethyst eyes and the wolf-like grin that quickly grew over Naruto's face told him that Naruto knew exactly what he was trying to do. Hiruzen would have to give him props for that, most of his Chuunin these days would have no idea and would instead see only a chance to try some expensive wines by the grace of their Kage.

"My dear Sarutobi-Sama, I do hope you are not suggesting that I might be unable to provide you with wine of high enough quality to thank you for your service to our village and the friendship you have shared with my clan over all these years. I assure you, my clan is quite capable of showing our gratitude to you and yours."

A counter had been promised, but this could all be a bluff. Would Naruto really be able to get ahold of wine, let alone anything that the clans might partake in? And when might their next meeting be, tomorrow? In a week? It would seem he would have to wait to see if he had truly lost the engagement. Sure, it was a simple matter, inconsequential in the end, but that wasn't the point. All of it was for the sake of the game, one that both he and the boy sitting before him could enjoy with few others.

A pity, too. It was such a fun game.

"Not at all, Uzumaki-Dono, I apologize if what I said was taken as such. Now, I do believe we have gotten severely off track before we have even had a chance to start. Now, where was I?" He took a second to think, observing the tenseness of his guest. Oh, it would appear that he had forgotten something. No matter, this was the perfect chance to remedy that without making it seem out of place. It wouldn't do to forget like last time.

"Ah, yes. After offering you a drink, it had been my intention to inform you of my current guard.." Monkey moved into the open from the shadows behind the Hokage's desk.

"Currently, only Monkey is present." Naruto visibly relaxed and gave the ANBU a curt nod. "From now on, I'll try my best to keep my guard to one member when we meet, unless you manage to obtain some of your own." Naruto looked rather thoughtful about the idea.

"Thank you, Sarutobi-Sama, I appreciate you informing me before we began." The Kage gave him a quick nod. "Now, if you do not mind my asking, why have you called for me on this day?"

The old Kage's face became serious. The game was on hold, for now at least, it was time to deal with Konohagakure business.

"I have heard, from various sources, that you have been spending quite a lot of time within the Uchiha district over the past few days, despite it being off limits to all non-authorized personnel. As you may know, a great tragedy recently occurred there and as such it is still being treated as a crime zone."

"I'm afraid, Sarutobi-Sama, that if you're asking some sort of question, I am not hearing it. I would not have been aware that the district was off limits, being a civilian, and not once was I stopped by any authorized personnel while there." Naruto's expression had taken upon itself a new hardness, one that reminded him far too much of his old teammate for his liking. A new game had started, but this one was far more dangerous than the last.

"While I am curious as to what you were doing there, I'm willing to overlook any less than acceptable activities and will instead inquire as to whether or not you have noticed anything odd or suspicious during your…visits. The one behind these attacks may not have operated alone, or he may have had other objectives, and we could use all the clues we can get."

"012110"

"Excuse me?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Sarutobi." The formalities were gone, replaced by an ice that shook the old Sarutobi to the core. This was not the emotionless repeating of a book that he had heard last time, this was a frigid hostility that could only mean the boy before him knew far more than he should.

"012110 – Uchiha Itachi, codename Weasel. I do hope this office is secure, Sarutobi."

Monkey immediately tensed but a shake of the head from his Kage sent him out of the room so that the two could speak in peace.

"You've told me of a person, Naruto, what does that have to do with any of this?"

"Everything," Hissed the red head. "And you damn well know it."

"I'm afraid I don-"

"Itachi Uchiha, along with a team of ANBU, executed the Uchiha clan of Konohagakure under the direct orders of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, and the advisors of the Konohagakure High Council. Itachi had spent the previous year acting as a spy against his own clan as you tried to find a peaceful solution to the growing unrest."

"How do you know this?" This was not something that could be attributed to a small leak somewhere, this was highly classified information that should have been known only to those directly involved. As much as he wanted to be furious about it, he was also terrified by the implications of a nine year-old civilian child having been able to come across it.

Naruto gave a grin.

"They missed a spot."

* * *

When the young man had finally left the office Hiruzen went limp in his chair. Heaving out a deep sigh, he set about preparing his trusty pipe. A deep breath of its smoke did wonders to calm him.

To think that some of them would not only have escaped, but would have been able to tell others as they fled. Naruto had refused to give names or numbers, but unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about that. He was a civilian child, but also the heir to a famous shinobi clan, there was no way he would be able to get away with some of the more crude methods of gaining information- not that the old monkey had any desire to use them in the first place.

It was troubling though, as he didn't not know if those who survived intended to simply hide and live out the remainder of their lives under new names or if they were gathering together with the enemies of Konoha, ravenous for revenge. At the same time, however, Naruto seemed rather fond of Konoha. Perhaps his refusal to reveal information was because it wasn't' Konoha that needed the protection in this case.

It was certainly a nice thought.

He supposed he would be able to come to his own conclusion soon enough. All the bodies had been gathered and now all that was left was to identify them. When the list was finished they'd compare it to all known Uchiha living within Konoha at the time. Any discrepancies would have to be their survivors.

Or, worse, a body that had been stolen by an opportunistic ninja, either foreign or domestic.

He had to hope that it wouldn't be the case, but then again, perhaps a pair of missing Sharingan was better than a surviving member bent on revenge. That could easily prove disastrous. There was little he could do now, however, so he would just have to sit and wait, praying for the best.

' _I hope you know what you're doing, Naruto, and I hope you know just how dangerous that information you hold really is.'_

* * *

It was waiting for him upon his arrival home, laying innocently atop a table he had managed to get for next to nothing at a second hand shop. It was a good sized item, something comfortably carryable under one arm, wrapped in brown paper and a length of twine.

It was soft to the touch, probably fabric, and a quick look revealed nothing that could be harmful. At the same time, however, someone had broken into his home to deliver it, and that was concerning. Using a kunai to cut the twine, he carefully folded away the paper to see what was contained within.

He was rather amused when it turned out to be a cloak, as he had just given his to Mikoto a few days prior and was in need of a new one. Such a thoughtful gift.

This cloak, however, was vastly superior to the one he had scrapped together with old, discarded cloth. No, this one seemed to be made of some sort of white fur that fit comfortably on his shoulders. There was no hood, but a scarf could stand in as one easily enough in the future. At his current height, it was only a few inches from the floor, but that would give it room to grow with him. Hopefully he could keep it throughout his shinobi career.

A quick look back at the paper it had been derived in revealed a simple cared with elegant writing.

' _A gift for you, godson, the first of many.'_ It read. There was no signature but there was a picture carefully painted onto the back-

A white serpent with burning gold eyes.

* * *

 **And that concludes chapter eight. The next chapter will be posted in a week, as usual. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go greet a dear friend of mine by the name of Hypnos.**


	9. Red Envy

**Welcome back to my little show. As always, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Siatuvai1002 thought I was evil for the last cliffhanger, so this little cliffhanger is dedicated to them.**

 **Every fifth chapter of this story is going to be twice the usual length, so I'll have a 10k word chapter for you all next week.**

 **So, other than reminding you all that there are no refunds, there's nothing left to do but start the show.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Back and forth she paced over carpets of lush crimson leaving indents that Naruko was beginning to doubt would ever come out. With every passing second of every day she became more restless, never able to keep her mind off of that which troubled her for more than a few scant minutes at a time. With a shake of her head, Naruko returned to reading her scroll. She was worried about Naruto too, but her mother had been the one to tell her they couldn't go back yet, so what was the point in allowing such desperate thoughts of him distract them from the task at hand.

Her mother might have felt bad now, but she would feel a whole lot worse if this trip proved unsuccessful and Naruto had to go through this for nothing. Then again, for all Naruko knew this trip was for nothing. Sure, she was getting some training, but they could have done that in Konoha with her brother. The first year had been spent visiting nobles about the almost extinct Uzumaki clan, but that could have been done in a month or two if it had just been her mother to go. It would have made a lot more sense to leave the two of them at home with Mikoto or the Ichiraku family while she took care of business.

Of course, then there was the pacing. It wasn't so much as she wanted the trip to be over, but more as if she was waiting for something so assuage her fears. Considering that they hadn't heard anything from Naruto, Hiruzen, or Tsunade, Naruko wasn't really surprised. Kushina was completely blind out here and Naruko could only guess as to the horrors her mother's imagination had conjured up for her brother to face in her absence.

Whatever it was, it was probably highly unlikely that he'd actually have to deal with it. Even if he did, Naruko knew her brother would be fine. He was smart, much smarter than her, and always seemed to know what he was doing, even if he was making things up on the fly. She was sure he could get out of any mess he found himself in with little difficulty. Hell, he could rule Konoha by the time they got back. She had to giggle at the thought of returning to the Hokage tower only to find her brother dressed like a Daimyo and sitting on a throne.

If he put his mind to it, he probably could, but he'd be much too busy studying at the academy. Even getting special training from her mother as she was, Naruko was certain that her big brother would manage to keep her on her toes using just what he learned at the academy and picked up from the various shinobi of Konoha. With some real training, her brother would be the last thing you wanted to go against.

She'd have to work hard then to ensure she wasn't left behind. Then the two of them could team up and go on adventures all over the elemental nations. They'd need a theme song and a catchy name, a comedic mascot to accompany them, and some major quest to be working towards throughout their adventures. Then again, they were shinobi, so maybe just the name.

And the theme song.

* * *

Cat was by the door when he arrived, opening it for him and granting access into the office of the most important person within Konohagakure no Sato. Giving a quick nod of thanks, he continued forward, his usual duffel bag having been left behind today in favor of a small shiruken pouch. A holster containing three kunai was strapped to each of his legs to leave him armed. It might be considered rude by some to have weapons so blatantly showing in the presence of your leader, but within a shinobi village such as Konoha it was expected, even in times of peace. If you weren't armed in times of war you probably wouldn't even be allowed in to see your Kage.

"Naruto-kun, thank you for coming in such short notice."

There was something in the air, he noted immediately; a tension that wafted about the small room. Something wasn't' quite right here and he didn't like it. Monkey and Bear stood at attention flanking their leader in plain sight. That was odd, usually Hiruzen only kept a single guard for his meetings.

Perhaps the recent massacre had the village more on guard than he had previously suspected. A sudden nervousness overcame him. He had been playing a dangerous game letting Hiruzen in on the fact that he knew the details behind the massacre and it probably singled him out for everything pertaining to it. The fact that he knew could keep him safe, but the shield was also a target, especially when some would see it as a weapon he wielded. He could cause a lot of damage with that information and Hiruzen knew it, but Hiruzen would also know that a lot of that damage would be to himself. He couldn't give up the secret without putting himself in danger.

He wasn't about to put himself in danger and Hiruzen knew that.

No, everything would be fine. Hiruzen would have learned of Mikoto's escape and known the connection between her and Kushina. A few questions would be asked,-veiled, of course, within their conversation- as Hiruzen tried to determine whether or not she was a threat to Konoha and decided whether or not to search for her.

Mikoto, of course, had been under house arrest because she didn't want to be a part of the coup, and considering that it was her son who had been spying for Hiruzen, the Kage would have to know that.

Perhaps, however, Mikoto's escape affected something else. Maybe someone had said that she and her son had worked together, maybe Itachi had abandoned whatever plan Hiruzen and the council may have had for him in order to go after his mother, maybe he was over thinking things. There may have been an unexplained tension within the room, but Hiruzen was a friend of the family, he was safe under his leadership.

Hiruzen had his trust, despite his order for the eradication of the Uchiha, and that was not something that was easy to get.

"Of course, Sarutobi-Sama, there is nothing in my schedule that could possibly more important than a meeting with our village's leader. In fact, I was happy to come; it gives me a break from Sensei's lectures. He knows what he's talking about, but he really doesn't know how to talk. It really does get boring far too quickly."

"Yes, yes," The Kage agreed, somewhat jovially. "I do hear quite a lot about his infamous lectures. Please, have a seat."

Moving to the offered chair, Naruto withdrew a bottle from his shiruken pouch and placed it upon the desk before sitting down.

"The wine, Sarutobi-Sama, just as I said I would provide." The aged leader seemed taken aback by the fact that Naruto had even remembered to bring it despite the hasty summons to his office. Picking it up, he was even more surprised by the actual wine.

' _This- This is from Fugaku's personal collection! Madara himself placed this and ten other select bottles within his cellar upon the founding of Konohagakure no Sato._ Only one bottle was known to have been opened and that was because Madara shared it with Hashirama and Tobirama to celebrate Konoha's completion.

It took Hiruzen nearly five minutes to compose himself. _'I suppose that's more than enough proof that Naruto's been spending a lot of time within the Uchiha district. To think he managed to steal this away- incredible. I wonder if he realizes just how valuable this is.'_

A feeling of guilt surged up within the head of the Sarutobi clan but he quickly crushed it before anyone could notice. Naruto would have to have known its value to be so confident of its quality after their banter during their last meeting. That he would be willing to share it with him was huge and Hiruzen couldn't help but take a quick glance at the files lying innocently on his desk. He'd just have to continue and pray for the best.

"I must admit, Uzumaki-Dono, that your choice in wine renders me nearly speechless. I can only imagine what you might use in celebration if this is your choice wine to share with an old man such as myself."

"You sell yourself far too short, Sarutobi-Sama. You are a legend not soon to be forgotten. It is only proper to provide you with an equally memorable wine."

"Your words flatter me. Come, let us share a drink before we begin." With practiced ease Hiruzen produced two glasses and poured into them generous measures. The two spent the next ten minutes in comfortable silence, enjoying their drinks. As they were finished off, however, the tension began to return.

Hiruzen looked sadly at the boy before him as the last dregs of wine were finished from the boy's glass. He was so at ease here in this office and to see him there enjoying a glass of wine just seemed so natural.

"I'm afraid it's time we got down to business, Naruto." At the plain use of his name Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously, watching the old monkey before him like a hawk. All lightheartedness that may have continued had they resumed their game was gone, replaced with an expression Hiruzen had seen far too many times in meetings with Hyuuga Hiashi.

' _Ah, that's right; he used to sit in on meetings between Hiashi and Kushina, didn't he? That would certainly explain some of his mannerisms.'_

"You may recall our last meeting, in which you commented upon the efficiency of my shinobi." He paused to give Naruto another sad look. "Unfortunately," He continued. "It appears you were correct and they did 'Miss a spot', as you put it."

Monkey and Bear tensed behind Hiruzen.

"I would have understood you protecting a family friend, would have commended it, in fact. But it wasn't just a friend who got away, was it? Seven Uchiha have disappeared, seven Uchiha which you have had contact with, seven Uchiha you could have directed us towards. You have placed the village of Konohagakure no Sato in a very dangerous position, so I'm afraid I have no choice."

One final pitying glance was shot at a confused Naruto.

"As Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, I hereby order the arrest of Uzumaki Naruto."

Monkey and Bear had him restrained and removed from the office before he could open his mouth in protest.

Giving a deep sigh, Hiruzen briefly considered pouring himself another drink. The reminder that it was Naruto who had so graciously provided him with it as a gift not even an hour beforehand, however, stopped him from doing so.

Technically, Naruto had done no wrong, and that's what made this situation even worse. Traitors or not, the Konoha populace never knew and the Uchiha had never been publically declared traitors. To have helped them was what any decent person would have done, but when you're the Hokage you have a lot more to be concerned about than how decent someone's actions were.

With Mikoto, the matriarch of the clan and an ex-ANBU agent, two civilian women, two civilian men, and two shinobi missing, there could be a vengeful army of Uchiha within twenty years, especially if they received aid from one of the major villages. Konoha was not ready for something like that, even with all the time they would have to prepare. They were still trying to recover from previous shinobi wars and the more recent Kyuubi attack. Were Iwa, Kumo, or even his wayward student Orochimaru to get their hands upon that group of survivors the results would be catastrophic.

' _Forgive me, Naruto, but for the good of the village this must be done.'_

* * *

The scroll from earlier lay discarded upon the lush carpets of the hotel as she glared at the oblivious woman before her. Arms crossed over her chest, Naruko gave a huff.

"You know if you wanted to pace back and forth we have a perfectly good floor back home with Naruto." She wasn't sure if it was her voice breaking the monotonous silence or the mention of her brother's name that drew her mother's attention so quickly but if she had to bet she'd put her money on the latter.

"You know we'd go back if we could, but we haven't finished what we came here to do yet."

"And what would that be?" Shot back Naruko. "We've spent the last week lazing about this hotel doing nothing. What, is this supposed to be a four year vacation?"

Her mother frowned, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed they had been sharing.

"It's a training trip, Sunflower, you know that."

"Then why aren't we training? The sooner we've covered everything we need to we can go back." Kushina bit her bottom lip, looking away from her daughter.

"It-it's a little more than that, Naruko." She finally admitted. "There's more, a reason we can't just go back, but I don't want you to worry if it turns out to be nothing."

Naruko thought for a moment. "That's why we're waiting here in the hotel, isn't it? You're waiting for someone to tell you what's going on."

"That's right; I've been waiting a while. So far I haven't heard anything, but if word comes that everything's alright I'll cut our trip short and we'll return immediately."

Naruko gave a nod before dragging Kushina up from the bed. "Alright then, there's no point in wasting time sitting around then, is there?"

"What are you talking about?"

Naruko gave her mother a firm stare. "If we have to be away from Naruto we'd better make it count for something. If we can't tell him all about what we did when we get back then we might as well have not left in the first place. Now come on, let's go train."

Kushina gave her daughter a grateful smile. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get our butts in gear so Naruto can be proud of having two powerful Kunoichi as his family."

Pumping her fist into the air, Naruko gave a cheer. "Yeah, that's right, Kaa-Chan's back, it's training time!"

"Not quite yet, my little sunflower, there's one thing that comes first." Kushina's voice had taken on a mischievous tone that Naruko recognized all too well.

"A-and what's that, Kaa-chan?"

"Tickle time!" Like the child she was at heart Kushina launched herself at her daughter who tried valiantly to fend off her mother's nimble fingers as she squealed in childish glee.

There was still plenty of time for training today, they could spare a few minutes to have some fun.

* * *

Cold steel bit tightly into his flesh, letting small rivulets of blood trickle slowly onto a floor that probably hadn't been cleaned within the past decade. His rigid seating kept him slightly reclined in a position that probably wasn't good for his back as dim light flooded down from above.

He wasn't aware of any of this, however, his attention firmly within the grasp of molten fury that flooded through his veins with every beating of his heart. To think that he had actually placed his trust in that old monkey, he wanted to kick himself. He was the Hokage, not a family friend, not a kind old man, but the leader of Konohagakure no Sato who would do whatever he deemed necessary for the village.

The Uchiha massacre should have taught him that.

But no, he had to believe that Hiruzen had his best interests in mind. Such foolishness got shinobi killed and him here, locked deep within Konoha's T&I department. He'd have to be far more careful about who he associated with in the future, that is, if he managed to get out of this.

There was someone in here with him, he knew, keeping hidden in the shadows as they observed. They were probably waiting for him to begin to panic, but that wasn't going to happen. He could hear their quiet intakes of breath, smell what was probably their lunch-red bean soup, and he could make out a vague outline within the shifting shadows every time they moved to the side of him.

He was a patient enough person and knowing that someone was there with him only strengthened his resolve to outlast them.

It could have been minutes that passed, maybe even hours as he sat there hating himself for the vulnerable position he had put himself into by trusting his Kage. Eventually, whoever was in the room with him grew restless.

Her purple hair was the first thing to catch his attention, pulled back into a spiky bun. Next was the outfit, no doubt showing as much skin as possible to catch opponents off guard. Having been so recently surprised by the actions of Hiruzen, her short brown skirt and fishnet top did nothing to make him underestimate her. Of course, then there was her smile. This was a woman who enjoyed her job. Had he not been in this situation, he may have found that attractive. As it was, her enthusiasm wasn't a good sign for him.

"So, you're our little leak, are you?" She asked, amused.

"It would seem so."

"Oh, you're not scared at all, that's no good. You really don't know who I am, do you?"

"I can't say I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance yet, no. Perhaps when you're done with me we can get to know one another over a nice dinner." She gave him an enormous, lecherous grin.

"I just love it when my food plays back, if only you were a bit older and not in my special chair."

"I'm sure we could have plenty of fun in your special chair." She gave a hearty laugh in response.

"Tempting, very tempting. You know, I like you, kid, so it's fortunate that I'm just here to assist today."

"Like a nurse? I'm good with that. When do I get to see you in your uniform?"

"Such bravado," She shook her head with a smile. "You put on a great face, but I'm sure you're terrified inside."

"I'm more angry at myself for getting into this situation than terrified." He admitted. "Though I won't deny that I'm a bit nervous and more than a little confused."

"Well, you're doing a good job hiding it." Praised the woman. "I'd almost think this isn't your first time."

She was giving him this opportunity on purpose, so who was he to waste it?

"Who said this was my first time?"

"I just assumed, but can you prove to me otherwise?" The woman seemed pleased that he had taken the opportunity she had given to continue their banter. She was probably waiting for whoever it was who would be interrogating him, which must have been boring. Well, that or she was trying to get him to lower his guard. Maybe a combination of both.

"Take me up on my offer for dinner and I can."

"You know what, if you manage to graduate from the academy I'll take you up on that dinner. You better start saving now though, squirt, because I expect to be treated like a queen if you hope to get even a kiss afterwards."

"I'll keep that in mind, does this queen have a name?"

"Mm, Anko, but you can just keep calling me a queen, little prince.

"If I'm a prince and you're the queen, then this is getting a little weird."

"Some say weird," She shrugged. "I prefer kinky. Don't you want to join mommy for a bath?"

"As wrong as that should sound, coming from you it's actually rather arousing."

"Of course it is," Anko scoffed. "I'm the sexy and single Mitarashi Anko, everything about me is arousing."

"I could help you be the sexy and taken Mitarashi Anko, I promise I'll still find you arousing."

"You'll help me find a boyfriend? That's adorable." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before ruffling her hand through his hair.

"If you're quite done touching little boys, Mitarashi," Came another voice. "I would like to get this over with as quickly as possible."

The newcomer was obviously a Yamanaka, judging by his long blond ponytail and the simple fact that he was at T&I. Three quarters of the department had ties to the Yamanaka, most through blood, so there was a good chance that if you were interrogated within Konoha, it was by a Yamanaka.

"Ah, Inoichi, about time you got here, I got so bored I was considering having a bit of fun without you."

"You seemed to be having plenty of fun already." Came the dry response. She just gave a nervous chuckle. Turning to the young man in the chair, Inoichi gave him a frown that was far too similar to the one the Hokage had given him earlier for his tastes. Why did they all seem to pity him when it was their choice to do this? If they really didn't like it, it wouldn't be done. They were shinobi, weren't they? If you start something you damn well better finish.

Naruto elected to give the man a snarl.

"Come on then," He practically spat. "Show me what you've got."

The man shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid it will be you showing me what you have." Performing the handseals, Naruto's world went black.

* * *

This-

This was not normal.

Being the head of the Yamanaka clan, Inoichi had been within plenty of minds, but none of them were anything like this. It was common for him to find himself before a large representation of a brain from which he could read memories like a scroll, it wasn't unusual to find yourself in a hallway of memories or libraries of varying levels of organization, but never had Inoichi found himself within the memories.

Not in the sense that he was viewing them or was a part of them, but as if they had all been dumped together to form an ocean of thought that threatened to crush him from all sides as he struggled for breath. Within the currents flashed brief glimpses of memories in no discernable order, small looks into a life that Inoichi couldn't quite piece together from his current position.

As his lungs began to burn and he feared he might have to cancel the technique he suddenly found himself breaking through the surface of the water. Grasping desperately for something to hang on to, his fingers hit hard stone and he gripped it as if his life depended upon it.

When he had sufficiently caught his breath he took a moment to observe his new surroundings. Beneath his hands was a platform of black marble, stretching in either direction as far as he could see. To his right there was a bright gold line crossing the platform and over it sat a massive dining table currently empty. The walls surrounding him made him think of a tunnel and he wondered ever so briefly if he might end up coming into contact with one of those new trains that Yuki no Kuni had created.

Torches cast pale green light upon him as he dragged himself fully onto the platform. Looking back at the water, he was surprised to see that it did in fact contain the boy's memories. The fact that there was a place he could physically interact with was normal, but for his memories to not just be unorganized but unseparated too? That was ridiculous.

If one thing was clear, it was that this was not going to be easy.

Time on the outside passed differently within the mind, and time within the mind passed differently depending on the mind. He may have sat at the edge of those churning waters for hours or perhaps even days, but rubbing his tired eyes Inoichi stood up and moved to the table for a quick break.

He found himself beyond surprised when he learned he wasn't alone.

Sitting calmly at the head of the table as if someone was not currently within his mind, Naruto sipped slowly from a glass of wine. But that shouldn't have been possible, only the user of the technique would be brought to this place, it shouldn't exist without proper training or the use of special Yamanaka abilities. The thought that he had managed to stumble into here while Inoichi was working was absurd unless the mind walker had been in here for far longer than he had realized.

"You know, if you had questions, you could have just asked. Save us both a lot of time and effort."

Inoichi couldn't help but scoff. If it was that easy to be sure they got the information required he wouldn't have had to use his Yamanaka techniques.

"Even if you told me everything I wanted to know, I wouldn't believe you." Naruto only shrugged.

"Take your time then, I suppose, you might as well be thorough. I don't have any plans for the evening unless that assistant of yours accepts my offer for dinner."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Inoichi went back to work. What seemed to be a few minutes later, Naruto joined him at the edge of the water.

"So, what are you looking for?" He didn't receive an answer, bringing a frown to his face.

"If you told me what you were looking for, I'd think about it and you'd have a better chance of finding it, wouldn't you? I'm quite comfortable here, but I'd rather not waste time sitting around when I could be out training."

"Fine." Spat Inoichi through gritted teeth. "The Uchiha massacre."

The change was instantaneous as all memories within the swirling waters became focused upon the Uchiha clan. The first image was naturally the face of Mikoto, followed quickly by the sight of her as she cried into his neck. Images of them sitting on the couch together swam through his thoughts and a final memory of him slipping his purse into her pouch was the last thing to appear related the event.

Even having seen what he came for, Inoichi was frowning. The slight glimpses these images provided were genuine, but they were a far cry from what he would usually be able to witness. There was too much of a chance that he had missed something important within these memories he didn't have full access to. This was a strange mind indeed.

"So, you spoke with Mikoto, what of the others?"

Being inside the boy's mind, he knew the confusion in his voice was real.

"What others?"

Hiruzen was not going to like this.

* * *

The moon shone brightly as he was released from Konoha's T&I building and Naruto's fury was nearly boiling over. They had actually suspected that he aided in the escape of a large group of Uchiha survivors? He had thought he had Hiruzen's trust, but for the old monkey to think he would hide something like that from him and then have someone enter his mind in search of information that didn't exist?

The Uchiha could have bled to death outside his door and he wouldn't have batted an eyelash, it was only because it was Mikoto who came to him that he helped her. Sure, he may not have been close to her, but he wasn't close to many people. He knew her and so he helped her, there was nothing else to it. To suspect him as part of some elaborate escape scheme to ensure the survival of the Uchiha clan was insulting.

That they thought they could get that kind of information from him if he had was even more so.

Giving a snarl into the night, Naruto began stalking through the empty streets of Konoha. It was usually busy on the streets of Konoha but at two in the morning in the shinobi district there was little activity. He briefly considered taking the rooftops due to the lack of shinobi dashing across them but quickly cast that thought aside. Most shinobi had already left to go about their business, but the chances of running into one atop the roofways of Konoha were far too high for him right now.

Moving without direction, he snaked through the village, intent on walking off his frustration before returning home. Actually, maybe returning home was a bad idea. Chances were that he'd be under surveillance and he really didn't feel like being watched right now.

Perhaps he could stay with a friend? He laughed silently at his own little joke. He didn't have friends, just a few scattered acquaintances. Dog he knew in passing, he had spoken with Shizune a few times, Hiruzen was out of the question, Anko he just met, Kurenai couldn't stand him, Mikoto was gone, Iruka was his teacher, and the rest of the Uzumaki clan had left him nearly two years ago.

But then, there was one other option.

Tatsuki was a pretty good acquaintance; she might let him crash at her place for the night. The thought made him frown. He was, admittedly, pretty close to Tatsuki, far closer than he was to most others, it almost didn't seem right to call her a mere acquaintance. No, Tatsuki was a friend, a very dear friend, and one he probably didn't spend enough time with.

Perhaps it was time to fix that.

Moving down familiar roads, he let his feet lead him to where he knew she lived.

He heard her before he saw her.

"Let go of me you bastard!" Naruto's molten furry ignited instantly as he abandoned his walk for a mad dash.

"Aw, come on, love, you do this shit all the time, what's once more with me?"

Naruto's blood boiled at the sight.

Her dress, one of the better ones she owned, was in tatters, barely covering her decency as she was pressed against a stone wall by a man who was at least four heads higher than her. Even from a distance Naruto could smell the alcohol the man must have bathed in. This was why Tatsuki never worked at night, too many unsavory characters that had too much to drink never made good clientele. For her to be out at this time and wearing such an outfit meant she had been getting desperate.

Her eyes met his with a single desperate plea and he reacted on instinct. Bursting through his shirt without concern for his clothing, tendrils of glowing blue chains snapped through the air like baying hounds. There was something different about these chains however, something that made them feel heavy and sluggish, like a limb that had been overused the day before.

Even as they changed from blue to a deep purple he commanded them forward, links of chakra reluctant to follow his orders. Gritting his teeth, he directed them to strike from the side as he rushed towards the man.

They struck like a serpent, quick and without mercy, and in a flash of red it was over.

But they did not strike from the side.

Violet chains hummed red as if pleased that they pierced cleanly through Tatsuki's assailant-

And Tatsuki.

He was aware of his pulse as it increased, he could feel as his stomach attempted to strangle itself and his lungs burned in refusal to draw breath. He watched as his chains dissipated in wisps of purple and heard as the man collapsed to the ground, but none of that registered within his conscious mind.

As horror took hold of his entire being and his world seemed to crash down around him, he was unaware of the smiling crimson eyes that watched it all with glee-

Because the only thing he could truly see was an image that would haunt him until the day he died.

As her torn body fell into the bloodied street he was only vaguely aware of the tears that streamed down his face.

And still the moon shone brightly-

Even as yet another sun lost its light.

* * *

 **Kukukukukukuku And thus concludes act IX, I look forward to seeing you all for act X next Friday evening.**


	10. The Weight We Bear

**So, I know I promised you all a ten thousand word chapter, but this chapter isn't that long-**

 **Its eleven thousand words long.**

 **I'd call that cause for celebration, wouldn't you? So, seeing as I put 110% into this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. It's also far less angsty then I had been expecting it to be [I'm not actually sure that any of the angst I was going to include managed to make it in while I was writing...], so those of you who don't like angst should be able to enjoy it.**

 **Thanks, as usual, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Alright, so after I posted the last chapter I got to thinking about the cliffhanger. Naturally, I began wondering how many of my old readers were reading this story. So, if any of you were reading my other stories back when I was updating and are familiar with the fondness I have for cliffhangers, I would ask that you add 'Chire, Senbonzakura' to any review you might write. To those that don't want to write a review, I would ask that you send me a PM containing it, just to satisfy my curiosity.**

 **For those of you who don't know, 'Chire, Senbonzakura' was a cliffhanger from Awaken, Noblesse. I want to say chapter six, but I'm too lazy to check.**

 **Just one last thing before we begin. I know you all seem to love Tatsuki, so I was thinking about writing a little one shot about the future Tatsuki envisions for the two of them in this chapter. If you'd like to see it, let me know and feel free to send suggestions. I think it would make a fun little side project.**

 **So, I've taken up enough of your time, I think, so on with the show.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

He was at her side before he knew he had moved, cradling her bloodied flesh to his chest. Had he not, he may have missed her voice.

"N-Naruto"

Hope, relief, and other poisonous devils attempted to take root within his heart, but the harsh reality of her situation beat them back into the growing emptiness that was threatening to overtake him. His chains had pierced strait through her torso, striking a host of organs that she wouldn't survive long enough without to receive proper medical attention. This was it then, her final moments, her last gasping breaths. The cold tightness within his chest seemed to spread numbness throughout his body.

"Oh gods, Tatsuki, I'm so –" He was cut off when she weakly raised a finger to his lips.

"Hush," She whispered, remarkably calm considering her current situation. Perhaps when you're so close to death's door it doesn't seem so daunting. She continued with a serene smile. "We don't have time for that."

She gave a hacking cough that splattered blood across his torso, the warm liquid running down in rivulets that went almost unnoticed by the boy. "Heh, we really don't have much time at all."

"Tatsuki-" Her finger went over his lips once more.

"If I get a grave you can come talk to me all you like, but for now, listen. This is my last chance to talk to you, you're last chance to hear my voice." She gave it a weak laugh. "I hope you can remember it fondly even long after your hair has drained of its colour."

"You know, I really had looked forward to that night with you, and not just because of the debt. You were my only friend, as odd as that sounds. It was so nice having someone who saw me for who I was, I wanted to be able to express just how much I appreciated having you in my life." She smiled sadly.

"I guess that's out of the question now, but there's still one thing I can do." Pulling herself up, she brought her lips to his own for a quick kiss, leaving the tang of copper in his mouth. "I suppose that will have to suffice."

"You know, this body is technically yours now, feel free to do whatever you want to it." She tried to give him a sultry smirk but it lacked the mischievous playfulness it usually had.

"I'll take good care of it." He promised, leaning down to give her another quick kiss.

"It was just a little thought I liked to play with some nights, but I really could have seen us starting a family of our own, we never would have had to be alone again." Tears began to leak from her green eyes as she thought about the future she would never have.

His own tears fell upon her as he held her tighter.

"Please don't leave me." He begged. "Don't leave me alone again."

She continued as if she hadn't heard his pleas. "Perhaps we could pretend, just for these last few moments, that we belonged to each other, that we had finally found happiness in this horrid world."

"Anything, Tatsuki-Hime, we can do anything you want, just don't go."

"I'm glad I was finally able to find a husband before I died, it's just a shame I won't be able to help with the children. You make sure to have lots for us, okay?"

"I will, I promise you, I will. A daughter would be nice, what will we name her?" He asked softly, running his hand gently through her hair as her breathing became faint.

"Hitomi," She said with a smile. "We'll name her Hitomi, and she'll be the most beautiful little girl the world has ever seen."

"I'm sure she will be. After all, with you as her mother, how could she not?" He gave her a final kiss to her forehead. "Get some rest, love, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, in the morning. Goodnight, darling." It would be the last thing she ever said, the last time he ever heard her voice, and he would remember it for as long as he lived.

As numbness took over his body, it did nothing to stop the tears.

* * *

Her body had cooled long ago, her precious lifeblood coating his torso in a thick layer of crimson. He walked slowly, almost reverently, down the streets, as if she were only sleeping and he was trying not to wake her from her dreams. The shirt her assailant had worn was wrapped tightly around her to preserve her modesty as he made his way to the Yamanaka compound.

He had promised her that he would take care of her body and this was the only way he knew how. They were her family, not only did they deserve to know of her passing, but she deserved to be buried amongst her kin. It was all he could do for her at this point.

He would not, however, be surrendering her possessions to them. No, those were his to remember her by.

As he had countless times throughout this dreadful walk, he found his gaze drawn to her pale face, bathed in the soft glow of the moon. She looked so peaceful, so perfect, as if the heavens had dropped an angel into his waiting arms.

Instead, they had taken her from them.

His purple eyes moved up to the clear sky and he frowned. It was such a beautiful night, entirely unsuited for what had just recently taken place.

' _Can the sky not spare a single tear for the loss of such a brilliant sun?'_

It should have been raining, the pouring rain and howling wind a song of the world's mourning at the passing of his first friend. But it was not to be. No, the sky remained cloudless, a grinning moon leering down upon the both of them as stars twinkled in ignorant joy. It was as if the world around him mocked him for his loss, or perhaps it felt he didn't deserve to see what misery he had inflicted upon it. It might wait, then, for him to leave before shedding the tears she deserved.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he pressed onwards, her drying blood gluing his shirt to his skin. Only briefly was he glad that his new cloak had been left at his home that morning. Had it not, however, he would not have spared a second to be upset about the loss. The body in his arms was far more precious than a cloak from a stranger could ever be.

His eyes narrowed as he spotted the Yamanaka district and anger quickly boiled within him at the figure he saw before it. Just as quickly, however, it was pushed back down. It wasn't his fault. Not only had he been following orders, but even if none of it had happened he wouldn't have been able to save Tatsuki. He might not have injured her himself, but she would have been at the mercy of the drunkard who had taken an interest in her.

Neither ending was pretty, but a small seed of doubt within his heart wondered if it would not have been better for the drunkard to get her so that she might live longer. She would have been hurt, but he could have been there to help her heal. Shoving painful memories to the side, he focused on his task. It was too late to back out now, Inoichi had seen him. And so with solemn steps he approached the head of the Yamanaka clan, one of his kin lying dead in his arms.

There was confusion at first, followed quickly be recognition and shock, as the body was handed to Konoha's most skilled mindwalker, but Naruto attempted to share no words with the man. As soon as the body was out of his grasp he turned on his heel and walked away into the night.

He couldn't bring himself to look back.

* * *

Giddy excitement permeated throughout her entire being. She had done it, she had finally done it! After waiting for so long an absolutely perfect opportunity had finally arisen and she had wasted not a moment taking advantage of it.

Yes, he would be sad, he would be hurt, but he'd move on quickly enough and the pain he went through was more than worth getting rid of that whore that liked to hang off her precious warden.

It was unacceptable.

But justice had been swiftly dealt.

And that meant there was no one left to steal her warden away from her. He was hers now and would remain hers until the day he died. Nothing was going to change that. If the gods were really smiling down on her, this would not only leave him to herself, but push him closer to her as he searched for comfort. Maybe then he'd come to really appreciate who he was going to be spending the rest of his life with.

There were only two women left in his life now, and neither one of them was a threat. Kato Shizune, apprentice of the slug Sannin, was seen only rarely and if any type of relationship formed between them it seemed most likely to become that of siblings. Siblings was fine, there were no romantic feelings, no pleasures of the flesh, just two people who were close. She could accept that for her warden.

The other woman she wasn't fond of due to her blood, but Uchiha Mikoto was also a nonissue. Sure, she had slept almost naked with her warden, but she was gone now. Hopefully far, far, far away. She was a potential threat, to be sure, but one whose chances of stealing away Naruto were nullified by the simple fact that she couldn't spend any time with him. Ever. And that pleased her greatly.

Giving a smirk, she lounged within her seat as she reveled in the sweet euphoria of victory.

It had been a very long time since she had felt so wondrous and it would be quite some time before this feeling faded. Conjuring a glass from the seal she sipped delicately the Uchiha's prized wine. It tasted like success, like a perfect plan that had come together and would continue to give favorable results long into the future.

It was just a matter of time now before Naruto finally came to her, finally saw what he had all this time, but until then she would wait patiently. He had just lost someone close to him, he needed some time to himself. Time to mourn, grieve, and with a bit of luck for her, get over the prostitute that had been sinking her claws into him. And if he didn't succeed? Well, that's what she was here for.

She'd help him forget about the little skank, he deserved a real woman and she'd be happy to provide him with one.

Her warden, like her, deserved nothing but the best.

Mito would be happy to crush anyone who thought they were better for her warden than she was.

He. Was. Hers.

And no one was going to take him away.

* * *

What was she doing? Staring blankly at her table, Kurenai rested her forehead in one of her hands. It had been almost two years since her mother figure had left on a training trip with her biological daughter and it had been at least two years since she had last seen Naruto.

For two years she had kept an eye out for the young boy that gossiping housewives and chatty old women seemed to have far better luck spotting than she. The stories had decreased drastically after the first six months, but they were still there. Talk about seeing him at a local store, or dashing across rooftops on his way to the training grounds. And yet she, a skilled Jounin, could not find him.

She had asked the Hokage, of course, but he refused to release such information. He had claimed something about it being a security precaution considering Naruto's status, but they both knew it was because Naruto wouldn't be happy with the Sandaime giving out his address.

Though did the Sandaime know that Naruto hadn't been showing up to the academy? It would be strange if he knew and allowed such a thing. It was exceedingly rare for the offspring of a Shinobi and Kunoichi not to become a shinobi simply because they grew up in an environment that encouraged it and their chakra systems were better than those born to civilians.

Then of course was his heritage. How could the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato not become a Shinobi? Not only was it a waste, but it drastically lowered their chances of survival. A target like that would need to be able to protect themselves if something happened, otherwise you'd lose them completely and that was an even greater loss than them not becoming a shinobi in the first place.

Then again, it was also possible that Iruka had lied, which begged the question of why.

Naruto hadn't told his teacher to keep her away from him, had he? It was not a pleasant thought and she much preferred the idea that Iruka had lied because he was suspicious of her, which was understandable. It had been over a year and she was just checking on Naruto then? She would have been suspicious too in his position. She could almost look at it as the teacher protecting Naruto, for which she was grateful. He needed all the help he could get.

Help or no help, however, did little to change the fact that she was still uncertain as to his wellbeing. He could have made powerfull friends and be living the high life with them, safe as can be, or he could be scraping by within the red light district, piecing himself together a life from the discarded trash of Konoha's less than savory inhabitants.

And here she was, doing nothing.

She couldn't stand it.

Kurenai could only imagine how Naruto might see her should she finally manage to encounter the elusive boy. He would pity her at best, be disgusted at the worst, and this was someone who knew her. If she was so pathetic in her uselessness that it warranted pity from the person who thought she wanted to kill him there was something wrong.

' _How can I call myself a Kunoichi, let alone someone who wants to help him with whatever he needs? Gods, I can't even help myself.'_

A most curious thought hit her then, one that made her rethink her actions for the past two years.

' _If I can't find him to give him aid, at least I can turn myself into someone he would be willing to come to when he needs help.'_

Yes, this was a plan, a real plan, something she could do, something she would be able to see the progress of. If he was so against seeing her as she was now, she'd just have to become someone he would be proud to call a comrade.

' _He's going to be a Shinobi, I can be the superior he looks up to, his senpai. And, just maybe, I can convince Sandaime-Sama to let me lead his Gennin team.'_

With renewed hope and a smile on her face, Kurenai grabbed her gear and set out to train.

She would be there for him when he needed her. For now though, she needed to become someone worth going to for help.

' _Don't worry, Naruto-Kun, I'll be part of your life soon enough. I will become someone you can be proud of, or I'll die trying.'_

With a determined fire burning in her heart, it finally felt as though everything was going to be alright.

* * *

It had been three days since Naruto had been last seen. That in itself wasn't too strange, as the boy tried very hard to be a ghost within the village he called home. What made it strange, however, was the fact that he was supposed to be under surveillance on the orders of the Hokage. How had they lost him? How was it they were incapable of locating him?

Naruto had not left, Kakashi knew that for a fact because ehe had been in charge of the patrols along Konoha's wall for the past week. What Kakashi did know, however, was that Naruto hadn't been home either. That is, apparently, where they lost him. Someone up the ranks of security personnel had the brilliant plan of assigning all of the boy's watchers to his house. Once he returned he would be kept under constant surveillance and followed as necessary.

Of course, that plan went to shit when Naruto decided not to return home.

Whoever gave those orders probably enjoyed a nice ass chewing from an enraged Sarutobi for that little mistake.

Well, if you looked at it from another angle, whoever had been assigned to watch him never failed in their mission, as the boy never showed up to allow them to begin. They could probably get of the hook with that one, though it would certainly serve to increase the rage Hiruzen felt towards the one who had given out the orders. Poor bastard.

Kakashi supposed that they knew where he wasn't and that was something, at least, but it really wasn't very useful information. Then again, when it came to Naruto there was very little useful information to be found. Gods that boy was going to grow up into a fine Shinobi one day.

That is, if he passed the academy. Seeing as they had someone watching it right now in case he showed up it was obvious he wasn't doing any of his normal things.

But where could he be?

And, more importantly, why?

Naruto had kept the same rough schedule for almost two years now, what had changed that? Something must have come up, something that was far more important than anything else he usually did. The only question then was what.

Giving a sigh, Kakashi shook his head. They had scoured all of Konoha without sight of the boy but he knew that he was still within the walls. He could be underground, perhaps in a bunker or a basement, but that was unlikely. For a day, maybe, but three? An enclosed space like that would probably make the boy rather nervous. There would be perhaps a single exit, and that was never favorable.

So, where else could he be?

His single exposed eye surveyed the horizon, lazily gazing over rooftops as he made a half-hearted sweep of his surroundings. Naruto wasn't about to juts pop up screaming 'here I am, you can stop looking'. Hell, if anything, should the boy be aware of their search, he would keep low even after returning just to make things harder for them.

He'd probably consider it training.

Training, huh?

Kakashi's gaze found itself drawn to the training grounds near the edge of the village. Had anyone checked there yet, or had all the searching been directed towards the village proper? Having a sneaking suspicion that it had probably been neglected, Kakashi slinked off to check. If Naruto was there, great, if not he could claim to be searching after he spent an hour or two reading Jiraiya's newest book.

It was win-win, really.

* * *

The house was quiet, far too quiet for her liking. Sprawled across her bed, Shizune wondered, not for the first time, if she should start taking missions. Even a routine C-rank would be a welcome break from this monotonous life she had found herself living.

Of course, as Tsunade's apprentice, the slug Sannin would have to approve her for missions and if the last Senju was stuck here in Konoha then there was no way she'd let her assistant escape, even for a few days.

She could always mention to her master how bored she was here in the Senju compound, but that would simply lead to her being told to go out and search for Naruto. Even after two years, Shizune had no idea why Tsunade wanted to meet the boy, nor did she know why the Sandaime Hokage was keeping all his information such a secret. Surely there was little harm in letting Tsunade of the Sannin know where the boy lived so that she could speak with him. Unless, perhaps, Tsunade was upset with him over something. It was unlikely, but it would certainly be cause to keep the woman as far away from the boy as possible.

If Shizune did know where he was, however, she wouldn't be telling her master. If the woman refused to tell her what was going on then there was no reason she should help her track down a boy who had never met her. Thinking of Naruto, it had been quite some time since she had last run into him. During the first few months she spent in Konoha she would encounter him once or twice a week. As time went on, however, she began seeing him less and less.

Over the last six months encounters with him had been especially scarce. In fact, it had been nearly eight since she last saw him. They weren't anything close, probably not even friends, but he was one of the few people she knew here in Konoha, despite having lived here for the past two years. Shizune really wasn't very good at meeting people. Actually, that was untrue. She was good at meeting people- once. She had no idea how to maintain any sort of relations with them after that.

During her travels it hadn't been necessary. She would meet someone, be polite, take care of whatever business she needed to complete and that was the end. Chances are she wouldn't see the same person twice, or if she did they, and often she, would not remember.

So, now that she was in one place, it was proving difficult to remember who people were and what they had talked about the last time they met. She just wasn't used to it. Admittedly, she had become familiar with the Ichiraku family, as their ramen stand had become one of her favorite places to eat. When you spend over a decade living in hotels your cooking skills have a tendency to get rusty. Very rusty. Suffice to say, neither she nor Tsunade could cook very well. Sure, they managed some simple meals and would practice from time to time, but the go to choice was always a restaurant, be it take out or dine in.

More often than not it was take out, as the many containers in the fridge could attest to.

It certainly hadn't been the result of traveling with the slug Sannin that she had been expecting, that was for sure. No, she had been expecting adventures and excitement. The only adventures she ever got to go on were Tsunade hunts when her drunken master had wandered off into the town and had to be brought back to whatever hotel they were staying in.

Fun.

It was pretty sad and while she had learned a lot, she kind of regretted her decision to join the last Senju on her, erm, extended vacation from Konoha. Naruto, the little thief, probably had more adventures in a day than she had during her entire apprenticeship. In fact, she would bet on it, and that was a bet even Tsunade could win.

Shizune's thought began to wander as she started imagining all the things he might have done over the past two years. It wasn't long until she began picturing herself beside him for those events. It would certainly be fun to actually do something for a change, having a familiar face beside her while she did it would make it even better.

' _I wonder if Hiruzen would let me lead a team of Gennin.'_ Teaching Naruto and two others what she had learned from Tsunade as the four of them did missions all across the elemental nations sounded like a lot of fun.

Sure, it would be a big responsibility, but she had been caring for a Sannin for over a decade, she doubted three preteens could be much more trouble than a drunk Senju.

' _Hmm, Team Shizune, specializing in stealth and infiltration, spending weeks behind enemy lines and leaving without a trace.'_ She giggled at the thought. _'It's got a nice ring to it.'_

Now if only she could convince the Hokage.

* * *

"Come on, Kaa-San, we have to find Nii-Kun a present!" Kushina laughed at Naruko's energy, watching as the smiling girl darted to the first shop they came across. Following at a far more sedate pace, Kushina caught up with her daughter who was staring intently at a red fox plush.

"Do you think Nii-Kun would like this, Kaa-san?" Asked the girl.

"I don't know." Answered Kushina. "He might, but you have to remember that he won't be getting his gifts for another two years. He may like it now, but he might not be interested after he graduates from the academy."

The young girl frowned thoughtfully before putting down the fox and moving deeper into the store on her quest.

"You know, you don't have to search for a gift right now. We can just keep our eyes peeled for anything Naruto might like over the next two years and get it for him."

Naruko turned to her, crossing her arms with a pout.

"We can't do that, Kaa-San, that's like forgetting his birthday!" Declared the blonde. "We have to get him gifts every time so that when we finally give them to him he knows that we were thinking of him during the trip. We can't say 'oh, we found this one on our way back and thought it would be a good gift for your ninth birthday' or 'we found fewer gifts suited to you than we would have liked on our trip, but don't worry, we found some here in Konoha before we stopped by the compound.'."

"Well, we could…" Naruko shot her mother the most heated glare she could.

"Alright, alright." Surrendered Kushina, holding up her hands. "I was just kidding. I'm just making sure you know that we might not find something for him by his ninth birthday. I'm sure he'd rather have a late present that he likes than one on time that he stuffs in the back of his closet to be polite."

"I guess you're right." Conceded Naruko. "I just really want to make sure we have gifts for Nii-Kun. We've been training a lot and I'm afraid we might be so busy that we forget to find him presents if we don't do it now."

"You think of him every day, don't you?" Questioned the Uzumaki matriarch.

"Yeah, of course, don't you?" Kushina gave her daughter a smile.

"Every day, and that's how I know we won't forget. If we find a gift today, great. This week? Still good. Right before we head back? I'm sure he'll still appreciate it, especially if his cute little sister gives it to him."

"Kaa-San!" Moaned the girl, her cheeks flushing red in remembrance of her rather embarrassing word choice within the fire daimyo's palace.

"Oh, you don't like that? How about his beautiful sister?"

"Please stop."

"His sexy sister?"

"That just makes it worse!" Groaned Naruko in frustration. Kushina rubbed her daughter's head affectionately.

"It's my right, no, my duty, as your mother to tease you relentlessly. That goes double when it comes to boys, even if he is your brother."

Naruko hung her head in defeat as Kushina let loose a hearty laugh.

What was the point in being a parent if you couldn't mess with your children?

* * *

He had fucked up. By the gods, he had fucked up. Using his fingers he massaged the bridge of his nose, the pipe of tobacco that usually served so well to set him at ease doing nothing for him today.

He had been too hasty in his actions, of this he was certain. He should have waited longer, should have made absolutely sure, and even then he should have properly fished for information from the young man he had so quickly shipped off for a visit with Inoichi.

That was another one of the problems surrounding the boy. Apparently, not even an hour after being released from custody, Naruto had brought the Yamanaka clan head the bloodied corpse of a civilian who had left the clan. Inoichi was, understandably, upset by this. He saw it as retribution for invading the boy's mind, but Hiruzen knew better. Despite his poor decision when he made the mistake of not trusting in the young Namikaze heir, the Sarutobi knew that Naruto wasn't that kind of person. At least, not yet.

The Shinobi world was a cruel one and had a tendency of changing people rapidly. Hopefully, it would not turn Naruto into a monster. At this rate, however, Hiruzen was more worried about the actions of himself and those who claimed to be friends of the Uzumaki clan turning the boy into something cruel and inhuman. He certainly wouldn't be the first person to be driven into such darkness.

So, while Hiruzen doubted that Naruto had just gone out and killed the woman in a fit of rage, the fact remained that he had brought her corpse to the very same man who had forced himself into the boy's mind less than an hour earlier. It certainly didn't cast him in a favorable light with the clan of Mindwalkers.

The Sandaime Hokage may have been able to learn what really happened from Naruto, but no one had been able to locate him in the past few days. Then again, the chance of the boy cooperating with him were exceedingly low. In fact, there was a far greater chance of Naruto trying to stab him. That would be a bad idea, but people were known to do stupid things when enraged. Poisoned wine, however, was also quite likely.

"Sandaime-Sama." Hiruzen looked across his desk to the ANBU agent standing at attention.

"Ah, Lemur, what is it?"

"Sir, Dog has wandered off during the search. We are unsure as to his whereabouts." Kakashi was known for his laziness and laid-back attitude, but for him to go missing during a mission, especially one concerning his sensei's son was strange. Thinking for a moment, Hiruzen turned his attention back to Lemur.

"Chances are that you can't find him because you haven't found Naruto. It's likely that he located the boy and is keeping an eye on him. In case he hasn't, however, you are to continue your search." The ANBU snapped a salute a vanished, leaving the old Sarutobi within his office.

"Cat." She was standing at attention before his desk before the word had finished coming out of his mouth. She had been on edge since Monkey and Bear arrested Naruto and had been quite vocal in letting him know her displeasure with his actions towards a civilian child. She was right, of course, and they both knew it. She was concerned for the boy as she, like most of his ANBU, had become rather fond of the redhead. That made her perfect for this assignment.

"I have reason to believe that Hatake Kakashi has located the son of Kushina, you are to confirm this and observe the boy should he be located. Report to me at the end of the day."

"Sir!" She gave a quick salute before disappearing, rushing off to complete her assigned task.

Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, Hiruzen hoped that her report would be favorable. If he was really fortunate she might even approach the boy. If she could shed some light-even a little- on the body he had delivered to Inoichi that would make his job a hell of a lot easier. Then again, this trouble was a fitting punishment for his mistakes. He had no doubt that he had lost all the trust the boy had in him; this was the result.

In the end, he had only himself to blame.

* * *

The other ANBU might not have been able to find him, but Cat was able to find Kakashi without any trouble at all. To be fair, the other ANBU probably hadn't even looked, simply reporting his absence and continuing on with the real search. She almost couldn't believe that the adorable young boy who first walked into the Hokage's office and acted like a little Shinobi had ended up here. The search for him rivaled the one only a week prior for Uchiha Itachi, and that fucker had slaughtered his entire clan- one of the founding clans of Konohagakure no Sato, no less!

It was insane.

Then again, this was an Uzumaki, insane was part of the everyday. At the same time, this was an Uzumaki, they didn't found Konoha, no, they had just ruled a fucking country. Maybe the size of the search wasn't all that strange.

Hmm, now that she thought about it, didn't that make him a prince? There wasn't a country to rule over anymore, but still, royalty was royalty and when it came to coffers, the Uzumaki clan was matched by few. The Uzumaki treasury was enough to let them hold onto royal status. People with that much money were kings and queens, regardless of blood.

Of course, if he was a prince, why the hell weren't people rushing to be the one to aid him? Surely there would be those who tried to get in his good graces for the chance to enjoy his clan's riches. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Kushina was clan head and was still around that dissuaded them from trying anything. That woman was scary when she was angry and learning that people were trying to take advantage of her son would certainly piss her off.

Then again, seeing as she had just up and left him, she really had no right to be angered by the life she had inadvertently pushed onto his small shoulders. He was handling it remarkably well though; those shoulders were stronger than they looked.

Slipping through the tree, Cat came to a crouch on one of the larger branches. Kakashi sat on the same branch, leaning against the trunk with one leg swinging lazily through the air. His nose was buried in a book, as it often was, and he made no move to acknowledge her arrival.

Like Hiruzen had predicted, Naruto was nearby, training as if his life depended upon it. On her right Kakashi moved, pushing himself up into a standing position.

"Well," He spoke in a lazy drawl. "It would seem as though Hokage-Sama has sent someone to relieve me of my watch. I suppose I'll be off then, ta-ta." And with that he was gone, most likely returning to his apartment to enjoy reading his book in the comfort of his own home.

Shaking her head at her senpai, she turned her attention fully to the young boy in the training field. Trees all around him had been torn down to toothpicks, leaves scattered over upturned soil that had been filled with countless small craters. Whatever grass that had once been present was not to be seen and deep gouges had torn through the landscape in seemingly random patterns. Naruto was in the middle of the chaos, sprouting chains from every part of his body in every size and length imaginable. From lengths of solidified chakra as thin as her pinky to great links wider than her torso that probably wouldn't have looked out of place with an anchor at the end.

He seemed to be trying to control them all at once in different ways and was failing spectacularly.

Taking the seat Kakashi had just vacated, Cat proceeded to watch.

It would be the most destructive training session she had ever witnessed.

* * *

As ants might they scurried passed him, doing all in their power to avoid eye contact as they parted before him, a sea of flesh and terror.

It brought a smile to his face.

The trickle of people grew steadily less as he pressed forward into the darkest depths of his precious sanctuary, down to the one room that was for him and him alone. A sanctuary within his sanctuary, somewhere he could pause and gather his thoughts before diving back into the chaos that was his quest to learn everything. At the moment, that meant focusing on achieving immortality so he'd have time enough to do so. There was just far too much to squeeze into a single lifetime.

As it was, he had already come up with a viable- if not inconvenient- way to extend his life indefinitely. It had the added bonus of allowing him to change his appearance and –even better- his gender. Tired of buying drinks at the local bar? Boom, now drinks are being bought for you. He'd probably end up wasting a lot of time trying a lot of the things he had already done again as a woman, just for curiosity's sake. Of course, the ability to just walk into the female side of hotsprings without any trouble was certainly intriguing.

It really had been far too long since he had last been with a woman.

Pushing past carnal desires, he came to the door to his private chambers, pushing open the intricately carved double doors of dark wood. Stepping into the comforting darkness of his room, he allowed his posture to relax, a soft grin spreading over his lips.

His chair-which was more of a throne- quickly found his body sinking into it with a groan. It had been fifty-six hours since he had last stopped his work for a well-deserved rest. As much as he would have liked to continue, he knew that the self came first. All his work would be for naught if he ground himself into dust to complete it.

Closing his eyes for only a moment, they opened again to see the painting of his godson. With a grin splitting his face, he recalled the latest news he had received concerning the boy. To think the boy would be capable of such a thing, a shiver of delight tingled through his spine. It was absolutely incredible how effortlessly Konohagakure no Sato was able to create monsters such as himself.

Uzumaki Naruto, son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato had taken a life. Oh, but that wasn't the best part- the boy had not only taken two with the same attack, but of the two had been a close friend of his. The chakra chains originally created by Uzumaki Mito had torn through the young Yamanaka woman without mercy, caring nothing for the agony such a death would inflict upon its victim.

It was delicious.

From what he understood, the woman had been at the mercy of some civilian thug, he would have never imagined that his godson would strike her down for her weakness. It reminded him of himself so much that he couldn't help the feelings of nostalgia and pride that swelled up within him.

The thug had been killed too, of course, for the crime of threatening that which belonged to the young man, but that was to be expected. It was still the woman's death that he just couldn't get over. His godson was growing up so quickly! Had he been capable of shedding them, that thought might have brought a joyous tear to his eye.

That wasn't all either, for the boy, even after such a brutal execution of one of the few people he had been close to, had not been satisfied. Even now, he was certain the young Uzumaki was still training to perfect his chakra chains. It had been an excellent kill, but for him to want to improve upon it at the age of nine? This child would grow up to be a monster rivaling even himself.

Perhaps that's why it was called godfather, for he truly was feeling as thought the boy was his son.

Of course, he would have remembered sleeping with a woman like Kushina and he was absolutely sure that hadn't happened.

Then again, he certainly didn't have the alcohol tolerance of Tsunade, or even Jiraiya for that matter, it was possible. He hoped, however much the thought of Naruto being his own son pleased him, that such was not the case. To have slept with the Uzumaki princess and yet not remember it? That would indeed be a cruel fate.

He erased such thoughts from his mind. Perhaps the first thing he needed to do once he had a new body was go out on a date or something. If that didn't work out he could always find a hooker or something. These thoughts really were far too distracting for him to be having while working towards true immortality.

Focusing on more important things than his libido, his attention turned to today's date. It would be Naruto's birthday soon, what could he get him? The curse seal had almost been perfected, it would no doubt increase the power of his chakra chains, though it might cost him control. Control seemed to be what the boy was working on, however, so perhaps that should be saved for later.

Naruto's friend had been a prostitute, so maybe he could replace her as a gift? No, that would't last long enough, perhaps a slave in her place? He might enjoy that. Then again, while slavery was still legal, it was extremely difficult to go through all the legal bullshit surrounding it. He would do it for the boy, of course, but seeing as his godson was still a civilian minor, it was probably a bad idea. He wasn't even sure if he could own a slave, even as a prince of Uzu, before he had reached legal maturity. At least, not without his mother's consent, and that was out of the question.

No, he needed something practical, something simple, something he could find immediate use from. He needed something suitable for the little killer he was. A grin split his face.

Orochimaru knew just the thing for his godson.

* * *

"Alright, class dismissed." The sound of stampeding children momentarily drowned out his thoughts, but when they had gone a sufficient distance from his classroom his mind instantly drifted to the empty tree right outside the window.

Excluding the time he had spent in the hospital, there had been not one single day that Naruto had missed completely. But then, two days after the Uchiha massacre, he had simply vanished. It would seem, however, that he was not the only one who hadn't seen him. All of Konoha's ANBU seemed to be searching for the missing boy in a search that almost made the one for Uchiha Itachi look half-assed.

And yet they turned up empty handed.

He knew the boy was stealthy, but this was absurd. Either Naruto was no longer in the village- unlikely- or they weren't searching in the right places. Then again, who knew the right places when it came to the boy? The Hokage might have, but this search showed otherwise.

No, they boy was not one to broadcast anything about him. Even if he was in Konoha he was likely to have a multitude of places to hide should something happen. It only begged the question of why he had chosen to disappear. He had been here the day of the Uchiha Massacre and the day after and even the day after that, so it couldn't have been caused by that, but other than that there were no events that Iruka was aware of.

He had, however, heard one Yamanaka Ino saying something about her father going to the Hokage about the boy. Had something happened between the two of them? He would have to ask the girl at the next opportunity. As far as he could tell, any interaction between the young Uzumaki and the Yamanaka head would have been the last known sighting of the boy.

Whatever the case might be, if he didn't show up soon his grades would plummet drastically. He would be dangerously close to not just failing but actually being kicked from the shinobi program entirely. Iruka couldn't stand the idea of such wasted potential if that were to happen.

Then again, he doubted even that would keep the Uzumaki from his chosen profession. Iruka wouldn't be surprised if he went straight to the fire capital to register as a Shinobi of fire country residing within Konohagakure no Sato, the imperial fire court would probably love to have someone who answered to them within the walls of Konoha, it would make it much easier for them to keep an eye on the village and communicate their desires to the Hokage.

Iruka gave a slight shiver at the thought.

It would be good for the boy, certainly, and for Hi no Kuni as a whole, but he was certain to make plenty of enemies within the village if that's what he ended up doing.

It wasn't as if he really connected with a lot of people and it wouldn't have surprised the academy instructor if Naruto actually viewed most of Konoha's populace as hostiles or unknowns, but there was a big difference between him seeing them as such and the Shinobi of Konoha actually having it out for him because he answered to someone higher than their Kage.

It would not be something he should have to deal with so young, not just to become a Shinobi. It was, however, still a viable option for the boy, whether he passed the academy or not. Perhaps the young man would prefer being able to spend a bit more time traveling the forests between the fire capital and Konoha, rather than staying cooped up in the village when not on missions.

Either way, Iruka hoped he'd show up again soon.

He still had plenty to teach the aspiring Shinobi.

* * *

Link after link, chain after chain, chakra poured from his body in such masses that it was visible, coating his form in an ethereal blue glow. Some formed atop his clothing, some from his skin, and some from beneath even that, tearing out of his body in a spray of blood that shimmered like a thousand gems in the light of the setting sun.

What little off his clothing remained hung onto his body in tatters, glued to his flesh by drying blood and sweat. His form was in remarkably good shap for a boy his age, especially considering his living conditions, but that changed with the bloody birth of every chain that had formed within him, leaving his skin a patchwork of skin and bare muscle. In several places yellow bone stood out proudly within the splotches of bare flesh that writhed as his body flexed from one position to the next, never stopping, never resting, never concerned for his own health.

There was just one thing that mattered and that was mastering these chains.

Uzumaki Mito had been the first to use such chains and was famed for having bound the Kyuubi no Kitsune with them after Uchiha Madara summoned the Biju at the Valley of the End. She never used many at a time, but those she did use were nigh unbreakable and could exert enough force to crush a mountain. She was not to be trifle with. Over a lifetime she mastered the chains, using them whenever possible. She eventually had enough control over them that she wouldn't have needed to move her flesh ever again in her life. Truly a sign of one well versed with their technique.

Kushina Uzumaki was taught the chakra chain technique by an aged Uzumaki Mito not long before the woman's death. She, like Mito, reached a very high level of mastery over the chains. Unlike Mito's, however, Kushina's chains were fast and numerous to compliment her swordsmanship. The Uzumaki clan were wel known for their skill with blades and Kushina had taken a liking to them like many clanmembers before her. Preferring it to her chains, she used them to supplement her style, making her a terribly dangerous foe to face on the field of battle. As her use of the chains differed greatly from that of Mito, she never obtained the same level of precision as the woman, choosing instead to swing them like swords or, as some might say, tails.

Both were masters of their chosen style, but to Naruto, that wasn't enough.

He could not allow his chains to just be fast or only be strong. He needed them precise, he needed to be able to control a million just as wel as he controlled one. He needed to master not a use of the chains, but the very chains themselves. He wanted to be able to use them as chains, as rope, as snakes, as anything he wished to form them into. Why did they have to be chains, why couldn't they be plates of solidified chakra? Why did they have to come from his body? Why did they have to be pure chakra opposed to being made out of a readily available element such as wind or earth?

He would master these chains in ways that his predecessors couldn't even fathom, or he would kill himself trying.

As chains around him began to disperse in blue mist and his chakra reserves began to scrape the bottom he grit his teeth and formed more, biting down harder every time they tore through his flesh. It was a glaring mark of how far he had to go to master this technique to the degree he sought.

Chains around him of all sizes tore through air and dirt alike, spearing trees and swiping through bushes and any animal unfortunate enough to approach these training grounds like a blade of the gods. Some danced around him like serpents while others buried through the earth like the roots of a great tree. They clashed together, a tangle of limbs he was still learning to control, with the ring of metal on metal and a shower of purple sparks.

As chain after chain destroyed its siblings, he continued to form more to take their place. His chakra was dangerously low now, so far that one might say he hadn't any chakra left, but still, he pressed forward, tearing through his skin with chains formed from chakra he did not have.

He would not stop.

He would not rest.

He would not fail.

Until his bones were ground to dust and his flesh withered away he would continue to improve himself beyond anything anyone had ever heard of. And, when his bones were dust and his flesh had withered he would tear himself from the grasp of the Shinigami and resume his work.

He would master these terrible chains that had taken her from the world.

He owed her that much.

* * *

She felt another of his wounds steam shut as his body drew upon her chakra to heal itself. He was tearing himself apart with this training and deep within her heart, she began to question whether or not she had done the right thing. He wasn't meant to react like this, he was supposed to be sad for a bit, maybe come to her seeking comfort, and then move on.

He got over his family's disappearance, hadn't he? What made this situation so different?

Was it simply because he knew he had been the reason for this loss? She didn't need to ask that question, she already knew the answer. She knew exactly what he felt right now, probably better than even himself.

While he had to deal with a flurry of emotions and thoughts that swarmed through his head as he drowned in guilt and sorrow, she could make sense of things even he didn't realize.

Every chain that tore through his flesh did so because he willed it, even if he hadn't realized it yet. He needed the pain, the punishment, to atone for his actions. His chakra responded to that need, inflicting pain on the body to match the pain in his heart.

And it was all her fault.

Had removing the girl been worth the pain she caused her warden? Should her own desires cause him such agony? Never before had she cared for someone and never could she have imagined that she might have such affection towards a human child, but he had become her world. He came to her almost every day, he spent time with her, fed her, housed her, clothed her. It was not how she was used to being treated and she loved every moment of it, prisoner or no. If this was her sentence she would gladly serve it forever.

But then that little strumpet had to start getting close to him, started taking up his time and occupying some of the thoughts that should have been hers. She couldn't stand it. When the opportunity to take back what was hers revealed itself she hadn't hesitated to take it.

The cost was proving to be more than she could have ever predicted.

Why couldn't he see that this was a good thing? He didn't need to waste his precious time on such a woman when she was here for him, willing to do whatever it took to make him happy. But no, he had to get close to the prostitute, so close that by trying to help him she had ended up hurting her precious warden. It only increased the hate she felt for the damn Yamanaka whore.

She hated to see him suffer, but this suffering had been necessary, he'd see soon enough. Before long he would realize that he was better off without the girl. He would move on with his life and come to thank her for what she had done.

She could only fantasize about how he might reward her.

* * *

The sun had hidden itself from the world two hours prior and yet he was still going at it as if he had just started. Cat had to hand it to the Uzumaki clan, their stamina and determination was inhuman. She was honestly a bit envious. She couldn't even begin to list all the things she could do with that sort of drive and the energy to follow through. It was insane.

Of course, seeing as she didn't have that kind of stamina, it was probably time to call it a night. Sure, Hiruzen had wanted her to watch him, but he also wanted a report. If she stopped by his office to inform him then the search for Naruto could be called off and other ANBU could be assigned to watch over this incredibly long training session of his.

Giving one last look to check for any issues-other than the fact that his blood was coating the ground around him and his skin was shredded as it desperately clung to his flesh- she dashed off to report to the Hokage as quickly as possible .Maybe she could get a medic assigned to watch him. Tsunade had been back for two years now and while she might be against spending her time babysitting a young man who seemed intent to kill himself training, her apprentice might appreciate having something to occupy her time now that she wasn't spending it keeping her master out of trouble.

It took only a few minutes to make it to the Hokage tower and she was admitted without pause. The Hokage must have informed everyone there about the importance her mission held to him.

"Hokage-Sama, Cat reporting in." He seemed pleased to see her, having most likely been eagerly awaiting word on the boy he had always seen as a grandson.

"Ah, Cat, am I to assume due to the time of your report that you managed to locate young Naruto?"

"I did, Hokage-Sama." She answered. She volunteered nothing else, waiting to see what it was her leader deemed the most important piece of information. Did he want his location? His wellbeing? What he had been doing? She'd let the old Sarutobi ask the questions that had been burning in him all day.

"I see, and how is he doing?" Wellbeing it was, then. In that case, she'd keep it simple and blunt.

"He's tearing himself up, sir."

"I see, I knew there must have been more to what Inoichi had told me. He could probably use some familiar company right now, I should see who I can find that can help him deal with this."

"With all due respect, Hokage-Sama, I believe you misunderstood. I was being quite literal when I said he was tearing himself up. He seems intent on training until he collapses. Seeing as he's an Uzumaki, that's quite a bit longer than he should be allowed to."

The Kage looked concerned by her report but after thinking it over a few more moments he seemed even more alarmed than before.

"The way you said that, you don't mean to tell me he's still at it, do you?" She gave him a stiff nod in the affirmative.

"As of five minutes ago he was still training, yes."

Hiruzen looked furious.

"And you left him there alone?!" Despite his rage, Cat stood calm, responding in the same professional voice all ANBU had learned to use in the face of an angered god.

"I do not have advanced enough knowledge in medical techniques to be of any use to him in his current condition. I thought it better to report the situation to you so that the search for him might be called off and someone with the proper skills might be assigned to watch over him as he trains."

Sufficiently calmed, Hiruzen took a deep breath and leaned back into his chair.

"I see. Good work, Cat. Now, you mentioned training, what exactly is he doing?"

"He seems to be attempting to improve his ability to use chakra chains. The field will need to be redone when he's finished but he seems to be doing as much damage to himself as he is his surroundings. Approaching him would be unwise, as he's currently attempting to control multiple chains individually- giving him a single point to focus on will probably result in being ripped to shreds."

The Hokage seemed disturbed by that news, probably thinking about the girl that had been given to Inoichi by the boy. The wounds she had could easily be attributed to a host of chains tearing through her venerable flesh. It was not a pleasant thought.

Or a pleasant way to die.

"Thank you, Cat. You are dismissed." Giving a bow, she left the office. Her duty was done, now it was up to someone else to watch over the boy until he grew tired of bleeding everywhere. After that, maybe she could have a chat with him about problem she spotted in his technique. As it was, he had entirely too many openings.

She'd have to fix that.

* * *

It had been a week and finally the skies could hold it in no longer. Great tears of the heavens crashed down upon the earth, heavy with sorrow. It was fitting then, that the Yamanaka had decided on this day for her funeral. She may have left the clan to make a life for herself, but the bonds of blood were stronger than that. She'd be buried with her kin just as if she had remained in the clan and had worked hard to bring it to glory.

It was a simple ceremony. When your clan is famous for its skill with the mind you didn't need some great event to remember the passing of a clanmember. Those memories could be accessed any time and even shared between people, there would be plenty of time to grieve in private for those that chose to do so. Those that didn't would probably juts push the memory away, not desiring to be reminded of those that had been lost.

It was the way of the Yamanaka.

Two men brought the cylindrical casket to the grave and it was lowered slowly. The rain had not let up and those present strained their ears to hear the priest speak, after which the grave was filled. It was Inoichi himself who struck the simple wooden grave marker into the ground, giving a few parting words as head of the clan he welcomed her back before wishing her good fortune on her way to the next life.

As the crowd dispersed he approached the grave, aware of the gaze of the only remaining Yamanaka. Perhaps Inoichi could make out his identity in this rain, maybe he couldn't. It really didn't matter.

Dipping his bandaged hand into his bag we withdrew one of Madara's ten bottles of wine. Taking a single sip for himself, he poured the rest of it onto the freshly disturbed soil. Placing the empty bottle down by the grave marker he took a step back, ignoring the rain that crashed upon him.

This was all his fault, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a proper way to atone for his actions.

Rain soaked through his clothing, reminding him of the blood that had stained him red oh so recently. As lightning flashed in the distance he saw glowing chains that streaked through the air. Blue. Purple. Red.

The red chains snaked through the air as if they were self-aware, striking out at a target that should have never been a victim to such monsters.

Lightning flashed again, filling his vision with a bright red glow.

But this time, he was not in that alley and there was no Tatsuki.

No, he lay sprawled on the floor, clutching at his arm, after an explosion of red chakra had burst from the Uzumaki compound.

The chakra, it looked so much like his chains, but that chakra-

His heart froze.

No, it couldn't have been. He didn't want to believe it.

It began beating again.

It was, it had to be, every part of his being was screaming this truth at him.

Molten fury pumped through his heart and burned his veins.

Under his soaked clothing the seal on his right arm began to burn an angry red, clearly visible through the fabric. He still didn't know what it did, but it had glowed that night too, hadn't it? Infused with the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, it had established the connection between him and the seal on his sister.

It still contained that accursed red chakra.

And it, no, its source, was why he had lost control.

She was why he had lost control.

His anger skyrocketed and a red haze came into existence around his arm as the chakra of the Kyuubi reacted to his emotions. Clenching his fists until they bled, he spared one last look at the Yamanaka staring at him, unaware of the way his purple eyes glowed angrily in the darkness, before he dashed away.

He had to know.

Now.

* * *

The double doors didn't open gently this time, blown off their hinges at his passing. With every step he took the black marble floor cracked and shattered. Every lantern he passed lost its sickly green light and plunged the world deeper into darkness.

She was sitting at the end of the table, as usual, and didn't seemed concerned with the violence that followed in his wake. His steps were swift and within moments her throat was in his hands, pressed tightly to the chair she sat in.

"Mmm, you're pretty forceful today, Warden, I like it." His grip tightened. Leaning in, he hissed a single, venomous question.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She just grinned, as if this was one big game.

"You know exactly what I did warden, I got rid of that damn whore for you." Was that pride he heard? She was proud of what she had done? His grip tightened even further, completely cutting of all air. How could she be happy with what she had done, with what she had stolen from him? Did she not know how much Tatsuki had meant to him?

His first friend was gone, and she was fucking **proud** that she was the reason.

"Why?" he demanded. "Why would you take her from me?" He released his grip enough for her to take grasping breaths under his burning gaze.

"Because," Mito finally answered. "You're mine." His blood boiled.

Hers? She thought he was hers?! He did not answer to her, she had no power over his choices. What gave her the right to declare him hers and dictate who he was allowed to spend time with? He had once been proud to think of her of his own, now that same thought just left a bad taste in his mouth. He let a growl slip past snarling lips, looking very much like the wolf he was so often likened unto.

"I answer to one man, and you are not he."

"One?" She questioned with a raised brow. "I thought it was two."

"It was, but then one of them lost my trust." He threw her through the chair, sending her to land sprawled over the stairs that led to her personal chambers. "Just like you." He made no effort to disguise the disgust in his voice.

He turned to leave as she began to push herself up, a growl of her own escaping her throat.

"Your trust? I lost your trust? You're the one who left me in here alone in favor of that slut!" She spat at him, eyes glowing red in fury.

He turned and made to say something but was cut off as she continued.

"Every day I was here for you, ready to do anything to make you happy, but that wasn't good enough for you, was it? No you had to have another, had to spend your time with her because you knew I wasn't' going anywhere." Faint traces of red chakra became visible, flowing towards her from deep within his side of this sealscape.

"Fine, if you want her, you can have her. Maybe while you sit before her grave you'll realize what you've taken for granted, but when you come back to me begging don't expect me to care." The tendrils of chakra increased in size and speed, rushing out from his seal and into his sister's. The golden band that represented the gate that caged her began to shimmer and Naruto was quick to step onto his side.

He did so not a moment too soon as the gate reverted to its original form.

Staring at her between the bars, his last glimpse of her was her snarling face and her last words echoed within his heart.

"You don't deserve me in your life," She hissed. "You don't deserve anyone."

And his sealscape crumbled.

* * *

The rain greeted him again, along with a familiar ache in his heart. Collapsing onto his knees into the wet soil of the forest floor he punched the earth with all his might. He heard the familiar snap of bone but could not bring himself to care. Her words hurt far more than his flesh ever could.

His tears were lost to the rain.

* * *

 **And there we have it, chapter X. I hope to see you all next week for chapter XI. Remember, 'Chire, Senbonzakura'.**


	11. Mōryō's Tooth

**My, is it really time for an update already?**

 **Not much to say before this chapter.**

 **First, as always, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Thanks also goes to everyone who sent me a 'Chire, Senbonzakura'.**

 **I've had a few people call this trash lately and while I'm completely fine with it, I would really appreciate it if they told me why they thought that so that I can improve my work. This especially goes to guest reviews that I can't respond to. It's perfectly okay for you to have that opinion and I thank you for sharing it, but please let me discuss it with you so that I can do better next time. Thanks.**

 **Alright then, on with the show!**

* * *

Two weeks ago his training had utterly destroyed training ground thirteen.

That was nothing.

Training ground thirteen had been turned into a field of holes and gouges barren of all foliage and scattered with the occasional dead animal.

Here, in training ground nine, there was no longer any ground.

Mountains of rock and dirt stretched high into the air as the canyons they had been born from steadily filled with the shattered remnants of what had once been a forest. Trees decades old had been reduced to nothing but splinters and each and every leaf had been shredded into a fine dust.

Huge chains pounded away at everything around them, compressing the man made mountains until they were strong enough to give even the Great Toad Boss Gamabunta pause.

There was nothing left.

And yet he did not stop.

Hour after hour, day after day, he continued on, pausing only briefly for a few hours of sweet unconsciousness. He had no choice in the matter, if he were to stop, he would think, and were he to think, he would remember.

He could not bear such torture.

With a crack his chain descended from the heavens, splitting a mountain in twine with little effort.

As long as he could train, as long as he could push himself to the limit and keep himself there, he wouldn't have to deal with the world around him.

And yet, the words still echoed within his head even as the doubt wrapped itself around his heart.

'" _You don't deserve me in your life, you don't deserve anyone."'_

He wanted to say that she was wrong, wanted to shout it out to the world that he was worthy.

But then, maybe he wasn't.

Could he honestly say that he, the thief, the murderer, was worthy of having people within his pitiful life? What had he done to possibly earn the companionship of others?

Absolutely nothing.

Perhaps that's why everyone left him.

His mother.

His sister.

Tatsuki.

Mito.

Gone, all gone, and why? Was it really because he didn't deserve to have them? Were the divines bringing these people into his life in hopes that he might earn the right to keep them, only to be disappointed every time and take them back? What cruel gods then must they be, to let him first taste the reward he could never earn.

A chain thicker than he was tall snapped towards each side of the mountain he had split like striking serpents. They pierced through with an explosion of earth, sending rocks flying and raining dirt upon the wasteland this place had become.

These chains possessed so much strength, so much power, and yet, he could not enjoy it.

This power, what good could it do for him? He, who had lost those closest to him, he who had no family, he who had committed himself to the path of a Shinobi, to the world of shadows, what use for it did he have?

The large chains split into a thousand each, swirling around their creator in a glowing blue haze.

He did not need power.

No, power could not help him.

He needed control.

Of his chains.

Of his future.

Of himself.

The chains ground together, sliding amongst themselves in a writhing mass not unlike mating snakes. When they were done she stood before him, a statue that towered over the landscape in its brilliant blue.

Tatsuki peered down at him, smiling. Her face was so close to that of the real one, to the one he had robbed from the world. A single tear slid down his cheek as he gazed upon his creation. Giving a sad smile, he watched it crumble, specks of dissipating chakra descending like stardust.

The beautiful scene did her memory justice.

Without a word more chains materialized around him, ready to be commanded.

A sharp stabbing pain struck him, then, as if a dagger had been plunged into his navel. It quickly faded, but looking down he could find no cause.

It was back as quickly as it had left, bringing with it a million burning needles that seared deep into his flesh. Another dagger went through his chest as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath that did not come. Five through the chest, naval to sternum, one to the heart. He felt as two more slid into his head.

As the pain threatened to overcome him he managed to make out a curious sight. His chains, currently coiled around him as if to protect him from his pain, were losing their glow. It was slow at first, the darkening, but it accelerated exponentially, leaving him with dull blue chains that seemed more real than any he had ever created.

Before he could ponder the occurrence, they shattered.

His last sight before his consciousness faded was the mask and long purple hair of a familiar ANBU.

Well, at least it wasn't someone new.

Meeting people hadn't been ending well for him lately.

* * *

"Good afternoon, my name is Yakushi Kabuto."

Ah, someone new then. That was good, new was good, especially here. He had never known how much he hated hospitals until two years ago. This was the first time since then that he had found himself trapped within one.

He didn't like it.

The white, the brightness, the harsh chemicals used to disinfect everything within this hellish domain, even the nurses who did their best to be pleasant and make his stay as comfortable as possible drove him mad. This was not proper, this was not right. He should not be here, confined to a bed, relying upon others for basic needs.

It was weakness, vulnerability.

If there was one thing he could not stand it was being vulnerable.

But, if nothing else, it kept him on edge and keeping him on edge kept him awake. He might be vulnerable at the moment, but he'd be damned if he had his throat cut in his sleep. Were anyone to come he'd do his best to fight back. He'd fail, oh, he'd fail miserably, but when his assailant finally got the better of him he'd look straight into their eyes as death took him. He was not one to surrender.

This new person though, they seemed awfully young to be here.

"What brings you here, Kabuto?" His tone was short and clipped. He wanted to get straight to the point. Pleasantries were to be saved until they were necessary. Here, lying in bed almost completely immobile, he didn't need pleasantries, he needed to heal.

Preferably in his own damn apartment.

"Ah, yes, my apologies, I forgot that despite your current status as a civilian you fall more into the Shinobi-like category, I'll do my best not to waste your time beating around the bush."

Naruto gave a small nod of thanks.

"Well, before we begin, do you remember the last time we met?" had they met before? Now that he mentioned it, the young man before him was rather familiar, but why?

"I'm afraid not, though you are, admittedly, very familiar."

"Not surprising, I really wasn't someone you would have bothered remembering at the time, you had no reason to. As it so happens, I was the one who gave you a checkup two years ago when your mother brought you in. I'm not normally one to do such, but we had been short staffed that day and the hospital didn't want to keep your mother waiting."

"Understandable." His mother- Kushina- had never been a patient woman and tended to be rather destructive when bored. That was not the kind of person you wanted waiting unattended within the hospital. The trouble she could get into and the damages she might cause would be astronomical.

"Yes, quite." Kabuto paused to push his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose, taking a quick look at the files in his hands. "Now, as I was saying, because I was the one to last examine you they thought it best that I take a look before we come to any definite conclusion regarding your condition."

As he set the files down on a chair and his hands came alive with green chakra he lightly gestured towards Naruto. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Even if I did, I couldn't stop you. Do as you must." Kabuto acknowledged the words with a quick nod and got straight to work running a diagnostic Jutsu over the entirety of the young Uzumaki's body.

It was at eight points during the examination that the medic frowned, the exact same points that had started hurting during his training. Certainly made sense.

After a few more minutes of running his hands over Naruto's chest, Kabuto deactivated the technique with a sigh and shook his head.

"So," He began. "The good news is that I know what caused this, the bad news is that I was more right than I had suspected two years ago."

Naruto shot him an inquisitive gaze, prompting him to elaborate.

"Two years ago, I brought up a concern I had regarding you and your developing chakra coils. You and your sister are the first children to be born to a Jinchuriki. Your sister, however, is now a Jinchuriki. My worry was that because you had been conceived in the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra your coils might be affected."

Once again, Kabuto fixed his glasses.

"When I told your mother this she was, understandably, concerned. I prompted her to seek the opinion of a proper medic as at the time I was still training, but I am unsure if she ever did so. Judging by what I';ve seen, however, I would have to assume she did not. They probably would have been able to tell at that point even if I couldn't detect any problems with your chakra network."

Naruto chose that moment to interrupt.

"So you're saying I have problems with my network?" He asked.

Kabuto gave a nod. "Yes, it would seem that your conception paired with the amount of time you spent in the presence of your mother and sister throughout your early years has led to your body developing a dependency upon the Kyuubi's chakra to properly function. Though, I am unsure as to why it took so long for it to show, I hope you'll excuse me for this, but did your mother and sister not leave two years ago? The symptoms should have been obvious soon after, for you to have such a delayed reaction is absolutely baffling."

"They were gone, the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't."

"Oh?" Kabuto raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"There's a seal on my arm. I don't know the function, but when I attempted to enter the Uzumaki compound I was attacked by stored chakra of the nine tails. Some of it lingered within the seal."

"And it's not there anymore?"

"No, the chakra's gone now."

Frowning, Kabuto looked over his papers one last time before scribbling a quick note and giving a nod.

"Alright then, I'll let the doctors know so we can begin treatment for Chakra Withdrawal. You should be up and about within the next few weeks, though I don't expect you to be ready to train for at least a month. Then again, you're an Uzumaki, maybe you'll surprise us."

"How much is this treatment going to cost me?"

Kabuto actually began laughing.

"Look at it this way," Said the young medic with a smirk. "You're damn lucky we can take directly from your clan's accounts."

* * *

He was back on his feet, more or less, within the week. It was painful and he had been advised against it, but he could not stand being bedridden. While he had not been fully released from the hospital, he had been granted permission to leave the grounds to visit a nearby park. So here he was, taking one hobbled step at a time over well-worn paths under the shade of a verdant canopy.

The park was beautiful, of that there was no denying, and it represented the connection Konohagakure no Sato had to the surrounding forests. Blankets of thick grass covered the ground, scattered with flowers of every color, and the birds sung happily within the trees. The warmth of the sun and the buzzing of insects brought with them a sleepy calmness that invited you to take a midmorning nap.

Unfortunately, he was quite tired of napping, he had come out here for something to do.

Continuing on the path, he came upon a curious sight. Sitting at an old stone table, a single man sat proudly. He was quite old, easily the same age as the Sandaime, and covered heavily in bandages. The sight of a cane propped up against the table caused Naruto to take a quick look down to his own. Doing so, however, reminded him of his own bandages, wrapped tightly around his right arm to hide his seal.

How similar, he couldn't help but wonder, must they look at the moment? Curious as to the man's identity, he approached with slow steps. The nearer he got to the table, however, the more he could make out. Resting on the table was a game board, and on that board a multitude of pieces. More alarming though were the two white masks that peered from behind nearby trees, no doubt to warn him of their presence. This old man was certainly someone then. Be they ANBU or private security, it was not the average person who obtained their protection.

Unperturbed, he carried on, aware as the man's eyes opened slowly and took in his every movement like a hawk. Standing next to the table, Naruto asked of the man;

"Are you waiting on someone?"

After a moment or two of thought, the man replied.

"An opponent." He indicated the game set before him.

"I see, and whom might be your opponent?"

"Whomever is seated across from me."

Pondering that for a moment, Naruto decided that he hadn't anything to loose. Taking the seat across from the man, he set his own cane against the table. Though it was hard to tell, the man seemed almost amused.

"It is not wise to make enemies so easily, child." He advised.

"At least I know this enemy site before me. Better that then pretending I have none."

"And you have enemies?"

"Every man has enemies, whether he knows it or not. Conflict is human nature; there will always come an opponent." The man nodded to that.

"Well spoken. For someone so young, you seem to have a rather solid grasp upon the nature of the world."

"I am learning, slowly, from my mistakes. With every one I make my eyes open just a bit more to the reality of this world I live in." Admitted Naruto.

"They have not yet killed you then, that is fortunate. The world is not often so forgiving."

"Sometimes death is preferable, I am fortunate only that it has not yet tempted me."

The man stared at him in silence for some time before next he spoke.

"You are an interesting one. I wonder then, how you would react should I do this." Reaching over, he plucked one of Naruto's pieces from the board and tossed it away. "Your piece was assassinated." He explained. "What do you do now?"

Reaching into his purse, Naruto withdrew a coin and placed it down.

"Simple." He answered. "I replace it."

"And why use a coin? Surely a pebble would have been sufficient."

"You cannot buy a man's life with a pebble."

The man across from him grinned.

* * *

A fortnight later he was back to the training field.

Chains that had once come effortlessly now struggled to maintain their solid form for more than a few minutes at a time, their brilliant blue glow having been replaced by an oily black. Pain shot through his body with the creation of every link, his chakra system as weak as an untrained child's.

But he wasn't untrained.

He knew what he needed to do, he knew how to do it, and yet his chakra could not comply. It was frustrating to no end, but at the same time, it was also a welcome change. It was something he could work on, this time with far more knowledge than he had during his initial learning.

So let it hurt him to make them, let them dissipate into nothingness soon after their creation. Soon enough he would be able to use them better than he ever had. It would just take time, and Uzumaki Naruto had plenty of it.

Four chains materialized under each arm in a coalescence of wispy black chakra, twisting together until they roughly resembled limbs. There was no hand and no fingers on either of his new appendages, but they were close enough for now. His flesh extended his left arm and the chains that made up his new limbs obeyed- all of them. Frowning, he shook his head. It was bad enough that he had to move his body to properly direct them, but to be unable to control two sets of four separately? That was terrible. And it wasn't even controlling two sets, it was controlling one while the other did nothing.

Naruto had a lot of time, but this might end up taking more than he could provide.

"It would probably be better for you to start with chakra exercises rather than jumping head first into controlling those chains of yours." Said chains dissipated as he spun to face the person who had spoken. He had never seen that face, but he did know that hair.

"Ah, Cat, I did not know you were there. I never got a chance to thank you for taking me to the hospital, you have my gratitude."

She waved him off. "Don't worry about it, we ANBU have taking a liking to you and word of a civilian destroying training ground nine had brought you a small audience. If I hadn't done it one of the others would have." Almost as an afterthought she added. "And, please, call me Yugao; I'm off duty."

"Regardless, you have my thanks Yugao-San."

"If you want to thank me you can stop trying to get yourself sent to the hospital again. This is not how you should be training after suffering chakra withdrawal."

"And what would you recommend?"

"Like I said, chakra exercises. You know them, don't you?"

He shook his head in the negative. "I'm afraid I've never heard of such things."

That gave her momentary pause. Had he really managed to achieve what he had using those chakra chains without ever learning chakra exercises? This kid could become a chakra monster in the future. Then again, he didn't seem all that inclined to frontline combat. That was a pity; his chains could probably make entire armies hesitate if he used them as he did in training ground nine. It was no real wonder they were wiped out, the potential for each and every child was terrifying.

"Well, then, you might as well start calling me Yugao-Sensei, because I'm going to teach you."

As much as he'd rather train alone, being taught something by an ANBU was not an opportunity passed up lightly.

"Alright Yugao-Sensei, where do we start?"

* * *

He wondered if this was going to become a reoccurring thing. Another mystery item, just like the last lay wrapped in brown paper atop his table. Of course, this one had a rather defined shape, being long and thin opposed to the almost box shaped parcel he had last received. Taking just as much care opening this one as he had the last, he was rewarded with the sight of a black handle emerging from a sheath of black leather.

What was most peculiar upon first inspection had to be the seal of Oni no Kuni proudly engraved into the sheath. As far as he was aware from Iruka's lectures, Oni no Kuni was not known for its weapons and had all of theirs made in Tetsu no Kuni. Why then, was he receiving a blade that originated from that land?

Unsheathing his new blade showed the same black metal as the handle. In fact, it was all made of one piece. The blade was single sided and just over a foot long. While the unsharpened side remained the same from the tip down to the grip, the blade itself moved out slightly as it continued up and curved back near the tip. Save for the tiny edge that gleamed silver, no other part of the weapon reflected any light.

Sheathing it, he found a note within the paper it had been wrapped in.

' _Mōryō's Tooth-,'_ It read. _'Supposedly made in Tetsu no Kuni using the blood of the demon Mōryō, it was named and blessed by seven priestesses of Oni no Kuni who bathed it within a pool of Eiyu no Mizu they had been gifted upon Takigakure's creation. It was to be housed within a shrine within Oni no Kuni to be used should Mōryō ever return but was stolen and used to slaughter the seven priestesses who had decided to escort it themselves. It took me quite a while to obtain it, almost as long as it did Kusanagi, in fact, but my godson deserves a proper weapon._

 _Wield it well.'_

Suddenly, the blade he had held only a minute before seemed far more sinister. Who could have imagined such a history behind such a simple piece of metal? Then again, considering its origins, it really wasn't all that simple. More than that, however, he finally had a name.

Not of his blade, but of their blade, the one who called himself his godfather.

' _Kusanagi, huh? I wonder who the last know wielder was._

At least now he had a starting place.

* * *

There was a little girl under his tree. Now, this in itself wasn't too strange, as plenty of students had eaten their lunch under his tree. Usually he was gone by then but even if he wasn't he really didn't care. They didn't even know he was up there. For future Shinobi and Kunoichi, that was pretty sad considering he made no attempt to hide himself. That aside, what made this case different was that she wasn't eating her lunch or resting in the shade but crying.

 _Crying_

And under his tree.

He was at a loss as to what to do. Did he leave her so she could cry in private? Did he ignore her? Did he tell her to find somewhere else to cry? How did one deal with crying girls? Naruko would have been his only experience with crying girls, but she never cried. He had, however, delt with a crying woman. Would something like that work here?

And, more importantly, was it even worth trying? Why should he care? Why should he involve himself? Perhaps it was better to stay out of it.

' _Then again,"_ Whispered another part of him. _'She's a clan heiress.'_

Indeed, for it was Hyuuga Hinata herself who was crying beneath his tree. It may cause trouble later, but it also smelled of opportunity. Earning favor with the Hyuuga clan was certainly nothing to scoff at. Currently, they were the largest clan within Konoha. If you excluded the Uzumaki, who only had three members, they were also the wealthiest. They could make a great ally.

Peering down, he raised his voice just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Are you alright?"

Startled, she jumped, looking wildly about until her eyes met his. He peered down lazily from his branch in a manner that probably would have made Dog proud.

"Well, um, uh-"The poor girl began stuttering nervously, telling him absolutely nothing.

"Come on them, out with it. Are you okay?" Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as she fell onto her butt and began crying again, hugging her legs tightly.

Naruto gave a deep sigh. He really wasn't a people person.

Jumping down, he crouched next to her. She flinched when he placed his hand on her back but relaxed quickly as it began rubbing the same soothing circles it had with Mikoto. It was not much longer before she was clutching onto him as she sobbed.

' _Yeah,'_ He thought, shaking his head. _'It's exactly like dealing with Mikoto.'_

"Shhh, hush now." He continued to comfort her for another five minutes before her sobbing ceased.

"Alright, feeling better?" Timidly she nodded into his shirt, too embarrassed to look him in the face.

"Good. Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

It took a minute for her to choke it out.

"T-they branded me."

Branded? Like cattle? Who did? Her family? Was that some sort of punishment within the Hyuuga clan?

"You're going to have to explain that to me, I don't know what you mean."

Slowly she reached for the white cloth that had been tied across her head, removing it to show him a large green cross. Hooked lines came from either side to meet it in the middle. It really wasn't something that looked good across the forehead. Maybe over the sternum, or across the back, but not on someone's face.

One thing was obvious, however, and that was the fact that this 'brand' was a seal of some sort.

"It marks us as branch members, my father named Hanabi heiress." Well shit, so much for gaining favor with the Hyuuga. At the same time, it made his blood boil to see family treat each other in such a way. Branch and main? Fine, he was okay with that. But to brand the members of the branch members like cattle? That was going too far. What was worse was that he didn't even know the function of the seal. Hopefully it was nothing harmful, otherwise he'd probably end up swearing the Hyuuga clan as his enemies.

"What else does it do?" He asked.

"When we die, it seals away our bloodline so it can't be stolen." She answered. He gave a small sigh of relief. Sure, it looked stupid, but that was a perfectly good function for the seal to have. Others may have questioned why the main family didn't wear it, but if Hinata was kicked out of the main family because her sister was named heiress that meant that the main family was a direct line of the clan heads. Not the kind of person that takes a lot of dangerous missions. They have a clan to run, after all.

"It- it's also used by the main family to control branch members."

What?!

He had never studied the art, but as an Uzumaki he knew that was an absolute abomination. Through clenched jaw he managed to growl out "How?".

Frightened by his anger, she quickly continued.

"Members of the main family can use a special handseal to cause pain to anyone bearing the mark."

"So that would be your father and sister then, yes?"

"And the elders."

Wait, what? How could there possibly be elders? Was there a technical third part of the family that allowed them to be free like the head family even though they should be marked? Something was wrong in this clan, really wrong, but there was nothing he could do. Nothing he would do, not for them. But, for the young girl who had just cried into his shirt, he wished there was some way to free her from such a clan. He was actually surprised a clan like that was allowed to exist, though he knew he shouldn't be. This was the Shinobi world, shrouded in darkness, devoured by shadows. But this girl should at least have the chance to see the light.

Lifting her chin up with his left hand, he gently ran the fingers of his right hand over the seal.

"If only there was a way for me to set you free." He mumbled. Much to his surprise, as his fingers touched the seal it rippled like water. As soon as he removed them it returned to normal. Trying again with his left hand resulted in nothing. Was that, then, the result of his seal? Placing his index finger to the center of her seal it trembled like a reflection in a turbulent pond.

He didn't want it trembling, he wanted it gone.

And so it melted away.

Was this why Mito had refused to tell him what his seal really was? Had she hoped that he might accidently remove the seal that kept her locked within his sister?

His surprise must have shown on his face as Hinata asked "Is everything okay?".

He gave her a strained smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I removed the seal." She didn't believe him until he let her view her reflection in one of his kunai.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She gave him a crushing hug, which he weakly returned. When she finally pulled away and made to leave he managed to stop her.

"Wait, you can't let them know." He reminded her. "I'm sure they'll be displeased should they learn."

Tying her white cloth around her head again she gave him a cheerful wave and a beaming smile before she ran off.

Shaking his head, Naruto was left to ponder how his seal truly worked.

* * *

Displeased was an understatement. She found him in training ground three two days later, her eyes red and tears streaming down her cheeks. After calming her in the same manner he had last time he was able to find out what happened.

"One of the elders was teaching Hanabi to use the seal." She sobbed. "When he had her try it on me and nothing happened they called for my father who removed the cloth." Her hands moved to the white band around her head, revealing a new seal. "I was rebranded and then they had Hanabi practice activating the seal for the rest of the afternoon."

Words could not describe the rage that consumed him. Never before had he been so furious at anyone or anything. To do something like this to your own family was unacceptable. And as much as he felt anger, so too did he feel guilt. It was his fault she had suffered, he needed to set this right.

He had spent quite some time thinking about the function of his seal. At first, it would simply remove other seals, but how would that work? The only real way was to remove the chakra it was formed with, but that wouldn't cause seals to ripple would it? No, it had to be something else, something far more complex than he could possibly imagine.

And now he had a way to figure it out.

Removing his glove and unwrapping his hand to the wrist, he placed his middle and index finger upon the seal. Like last time, the seal trembled under his touch. Unlike last time, he didn't want it to disappear. No, this time he just didn't want it to work. The seal on his arm glowed a faint red and was soon copied by the seal upon her forehead.

As both seals stopped, he knew that it had to have worked. It was a gut feeling, purely instinctual, but Uzumaki Naruto-

He trusted his instincts.

* * *

 **Eleven down, a lot more to go. See you all next week for the performance of act XII.**


	12. Silent Paintings

**Other than thanking ncpfan for his help, I can't think of anything else that needs to be said this chapter.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

She was surrounded by darkness, cloaked in it, covered in it-

Drowning in it.

Gone were the pale green flames that flickered upon the cold stone walls or the candelabra that had sat elegantly upon the center of the table. Now there was only darkness, darkness and silence. The world he had created around them was reduced to a pile of rubble slowly sinking into the murky waters that covered the floors.

The table, once the center of what had been the dining hall in which they shared countless meals, was no more than large slabs of jagged wood, covered by the tattered red cloth that had graced it as they ate. Stairs which had led to a luxurious bedroom and a bathroom fit for a goddess had crumbled to the floor in small mountains of rubble. The doors that had granted access to her rooms had vanished as soon as the stairs had collapsed, leaving no escape for her.

Trapped in this horrid prison, she could do but one thing, the one thing she wished more than anything not to do-

Remember.

' _You don't deserve me in your life.'_ Even now the words were acid to her ears. _'You don't deserve anyone.'_

Her stomach twisted and knotted as her words played back to her over and over again, each one bringing a wrenching pain to her chest that she had never felt before. She had no words to describe the pain that tore at her soul, nothing to compare it to. Never before had she suffered a wound that was not physical. She longed to be able to claim such still.

But this torture, brought on by her vicious, heated words, were nothing in comparison with what her eyes still saw.

Were she to live for another ten thousand years, she would never be able to unsee the face of her precious warden, twisted with hopeless despair as she left him. The pain in his eyes as he lost one of the few he had close to her, despite the fact that he was angered by her hand in taking away his first friend, would haunt her every waking moment.

It was still preferable to the dreams.

While she was awake things were easy, memories were relived, thoughts of getting back to him circled her head, and a deep emptiness burned in her chest, but as she slumbered everything changed.

No longer did she suffer memories, but possibilities, a million scenarios running through her mind.

Not one of them ever ended well.

From him having been the one to cast her aside to sneers and violent reactions when she attempted to reenter his life, her horrors played out before her in vivid detail every time she closed her eyes.

And yet not a single torture she endured in those dreams was as crushing as seeing his face, perfectly calm, as he looked down upon her. He was not happy to see her, he was not angered by what she had done, he simply looked down at her as if she was just another person. There was no recognition in his eyes, no memories, and he didn't even bother speaking.

She would cower before that gaze, the look he gave to everyone who he was not close to, and she would be nothing to those beautiful purple eyes.

It was fitting as here, trembling in the darkness without any hope of seeing him, she was just that-

Nothing.

Burying her face in her hands, she wept for the loss of her warden as emotions she did not know pulled her deep into pools of misery.

There would be nothing to ease her sorrows in the darkness of her prison.

* * *

It had been sitting there for almost two years now, that sheet of paper, and even now it stared at her from across the room, blank space filled with accusation. It was just paper, it had no awareness, but she could have sworn it judged her for every second she did not write on it.

It was a letter- was supposed to be a letter.

And yet here it sat, unwritten.

But what was there to write?

She had come back to Konoha at the behest of Kushina and still had yet to see the woman's son. He was the entire reason she was here and not enjoying herself gambling throughout Hi no Kuni and yet he couldn't be bothered to show up.

Then again, the boy had never met her and probably didn't even know she was supposed to take a look at his chakra coils to ensure they had not and would not be damaged by the Kyuubi's chakra. Hiruzen had been less than helpful finding him, too. Yes, she understood that the boy might want his privacy, but at the very least he could have sent him here.

She was Tsunade of the Sannin, for fuck's sake. Who wouldn't want to meet her, even if it was only to stare in wonder at the size of her rack? Wasn't he around the start of puberty? Such an opportunity should have drawn him like a moth to a flame.

Perhaps, then, he was not a moth. That or she wasn't a-

No. She wasn't even going to finish that thought. As…experienced…as she was in the world, she still looked damn fine. She wasn't going to let anyone-including herself- tell her otherwise.

He was probably just intimidated by her beauty.

Moving past those thoughts, her apprentice had been acting kind of strange as of late. Before she had spent her time around the compound reading or out taking walks in one of Konoha's many parks, but now she had been spending almost all her free time training.

Tsunade couldn't remember the last time Shizune had trained.

When asked about it, her apprentice had simply made a comment about removing the rust that left the Sannin puzzled. Surely the girl didn't think she'd be going on missions any time soon, did she? If Tsunade was stuck here in Konoha looking for the ever-elusive red furred ghost, you could bet your ass her apprentice was staying here too.

At the same time, however, perhaps a mission or two would be good for her. Let her stretch her legs a bit, interact with new teammates, and get a change of scenery. Trees were nice and all, but they got boring pretty quickly.

Hmm, maybe when they were done in Konoha they could go on a vacation and visit a beach or something. It certainly sounded nice.

Sparing one last look at the paper that still sat untouched on her desk, Tsunade left the room, escaping its judgmental glare.

Kushina was waiting desperately for word on her son, but for now, the paper would remain as it was-

Covered in as little as she had done for Naruto.

* * *

Those eyes still haunted him, pools of ethereal purple that glowed deep in the blackness of that stormy afternoon. Shadows had clung to that figure like the arms of lovers begging him back to bed, but his arm had been left unclaimed by the grasp of night's daughters, burning an angry red as if it were attempting to burst into flame.

And he knew who it had been.

By the gods, he had known. There could be no other.

The simple fact that he had been present gave it away, but those eyes belonged to only one person within the walls of Konoha.

Uzumaki Naruto.

He had been there to witness her funeral, but why? What could have driven the young man to watch as the woman he had lashed out against in retribution was put to rest? Was it guilt, respect, or was there something more, something that Inoichi could not see?

He looked down into his hands and the bottle held carefully in them. He knew this wine, all the clan heads did. To think that the boy not only managed to get his hands on it, but would waste it all on a dead woman left the Yamanaka with a strange feeling.

Something wasn't right.

But he didn't have time to figure out what it was.

Even now his clan was seething in rage, demanding the head of the Uzumaki prince. To them it was a message, a threat, and despite them not knowing what part he may have played in the young man's ire, they knew the body had been brought to him.

It was enough.

It was also foolish.

Were anyone to attempt to harm the boy they were likely to end up like the unfortunate Tatsuki, with a large hole torn through them. He knew from experience that any attempt to use family techniques would probably end up backfiring as they drowned forever in his mind. And politically- Inoichi shivered at the thought- attacking him would be disastrous. The Uzumaki had always had friends in high places and it was rumored that the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni himself favored their clan.

As its prince, Naruto could probably turn many of their allies against the Yamanaka clan. That was something Inoichi would rather not risk.

And there was still something that didn't sit right with the man. If Naruto was upset enough to kill, why go after a clanmate who had distanced herself from the Shinobi clan? Was it in an effort to somehow avoid backlash, claiming that while they were of blood they were not of his clan?

But those eyes had burned with such hatred.

Did he still harbor a grudge? Was he angered by her death? Did the boy somehow blame Inoichi himself for her death? It sounded preposterous, but Inoichi dealt in the mind, it was entirely possible for the boy to feel that way.

And it scared him.

If anger drove him to act in a way that only brought about more anger, where would this vicious cycle end? He was only a boy, but he had already proved himself dangerous.

Dangerous and unpredictable.

For a clan that prided themselves on reading opponents, unpredictability was every Yamanaka's worst nightmare.

He did not want this boy as an enemy to his clan.

His clan seemed to have different ideas.

Inoichi could only pray that no one would be stupid enough to anger the prince.

It was too soon for another funeral-

He had only just buried his sister.

* * *

The silence was only broken by soft breaths from beside her as her daughter slept peacefully through the night. Such rest would not find Kushina.

She sat upright in the hotel bed she shared with her daughter, gazing out through the window at the night life of the town they were currently staying in. Crimson sheets matched her hair and splayed over her lap, leaving her bare torso exposed to the cool breeze that slithered in through the barely open window.

Plagued, as every day, were her thoughts, filled with worry and anticipation in equal measures, hope and worry leaving her constantly on edge as she waited.

Days had passed, turned to weeks and then months. It had been two years.

Something was wrong.

Her letter to Kurenai had gotten lost in delivery or her former student was refusing to respond to her inquiry to her son. Her daughter's words about the two not getting along seemed more plausible with every day her letter went unanswered.

Hiruzen had been sent a dozen letters, but he had not sent another after he initially suggested she return from her trip. He knew she couldn't do that, and he knew why. Couldn't he see that she just wanted to hear how her son was doing in her absence? How were his grades? Did he make any friends yet? Meet any girls? She couldn't stand this, being completely cut off from his life. She needed something, anything, desperately to show that he was still doing okay despite her missing presence.

And then there was Tsunade, the person she needed to hear from more than anyone else.

It had proven difficult enough to convince the woman to return to Konoha to look after her son's health, but after hearing that the Kyuubi's chakra might be irreparably harming her son Kushina made sure to get the best. Now all there was to do was wait.

Tsunade would come through, eventually. She had faith in the woman despite her silence concerning her son. Either the Sannin would inform her that the young medic had been wrong and it was safe for her to return or she would be informed that the medic was right and his coils had been damaged.

If he was wrong then the trip would be cancelled immediately and she'd return to Konoha at once.

If he was right then she'd be forced to continue waiting, either until Tsunade had fixed any damage, her son's coils were strong enough to resist any effects of the Kyuubi's chakra, or he reached chakra maturity and his coils were done forming. If his coils were done then his Uzumaki healing could make up for any damages the Kyuubi's chakra might cause, but if the coils were damaged before chakra maturity his healing factor would work against any attempt to fix the damage his chakra network had taken.

Whatever the case, she would not know it, not until someone sent word she was desperate to receive.

She was worried sick, but there was nothing she could do.

Nothing but wait.

Sliding gracefully out of bed, she took up residence on a chair by the window.

Sleep would escape her this night, as it had many before.

And it would for countless more.

* * *

Once again, there was something beneath his tree.

This time, it wore a pretty little bow.

Two chains cautiously retrieved the small box and two more opened it. There was a pastry inside, a roll covered in icing, and a small note that had only a picture.

Chibi Hinata smiled up at him.

When he turned to the window of the classroom, Hinata smiled and waved.

She was a strange girl. While she was still as shy and timid as she had always been, she seemed to interact with him whenever she could. It was almost as if she didn't have anyone else. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed true. It was somewhat saddening, but it also reminded him that he was not the only one in this world who suffered. And still there were those whose suffering made all that he had experienced and all that he had ever heard aout seem as paradise.

There was no time to bemoan one's own troubles, it did nothing to help.

No, you just had to keep moving on, always taking another step forward, never looking back.

For if you looked back you faltered and you fell, deep into a sea of misery and despair from which there was no escape.

To hesitate was to die.

To stagnate was to die.

Uzumaki Naruto did not plan on dying anytime soon.

He had been hurt, yes, but he'd be hurt again. He just needed to be more careful.

Watching as Hinata took her seat, he couldn't help but recall the feeling he had felt when first meeting Mito.

' _Mine.'_

Having freed this lamb from the dead pasture of its clan, was it not now his responsibility to watch over it? He gave a slight chuckle. He had heard people calling him a wolf before, so why was he feeling so protective of this lamb? Was it because he had once again found himself with no one? Was he so desperate to have someone- anyone- near him that he'd even accept such a timid creature as company?

No, not company, she was his duty.

Her clan had no doubt noticed that the seal, while present did not work, or, he assumed that it operated as he had planned. Hinata seemed to cheerful for it to not have worked. Then again, this was a village of Shinobi and as Dog once said "Look underneath the underneath". He would have to confirm that she was okay and not being forced to act like this to not raise suspicion. In a Shinobi village however, not raising suspicion also raised suspicion. That's just how it went.

But, assuming they had noticed that the seal did not work despite being present, anything that happened to her because of such was his fault. Were she to be hurt because of his actions the blame would fall upon him. Were she to be exiled from the clan, it would be he who would be expected to take her in. She was his now, his duty, his responsibility, his lamb.

He'd make sure she was taken care of.

Retuning to earlier suspicion, as much as he'd like to trust her and whoever it was who made this gift, without Mito's chakra to exponentially increase his healing factor he could not risk eating food he had not prepared himself.

Perhaps one day, when he had a way to check for poisons or some way to nullify them, he could enjoy something like this. Until then, however, he could not accept such a gift. Stashing it in a hole in the trunk of the tree for whatever animal might fancy it, Naruto turned his attention to the classroom. Iruka was about to start his lecture.

* * *

Hidden as it was behind her books and behind her long blonde hair, she seethed. Every time she saw the girl she was interacting in some manner with **HIM.** Did she not know who he was, what he had done? This was not someone you tried to make your friend, this was someone you dragged off to prison or, better, the headman's block.

Not only had this bastard murdered her aunt, but he had the gall to drag her corpse to her father.

Her dad had mentioned to her mother and herself something about having entered the boy's mind on orders of the Hokage and that made it quite obvious even to her why he had done such a monstrous thing.

It was revenge, retribution, a message, warning, and threat all in one.

She wasn't going to stand for it, and most of her clan felt the same.

So for this girl to be friendly to him, for her to want to be close to him, it sickened her. It needed to stop, now, and if no one else would do it then it fell to her.

That thing didn't deserve to have any attachments, it didn't deserve anyone.

It was for the girl's own good that she be taken away.

* * *

As class was dismissed for lunch, Naruto made for the roof. Rent was due soon and he needed to collect the last of it. His plans to make a quick visit to the training grounds were interrupted, however, when he spotted one Yamanaka Ino making her way to Hinata with quick steps.

Crouching down upon the edge of the roof, he watched carefully.

Hinata was halfway to his tree when the blonde caught up, grabbing her shoulder and throwing her to the ground. Naruto tensed, ready. Behind him a handful of chains swayed dangerously, waiting impatiently to be used.

"I-Ino?" Stammered the lamb as she tried pushing herself up. The blonde sneered down at her.

"And where do you think you're going, Hyuuga?" She spat.

"I'm g-going to see a f-friend."

"No, you were about to go see a monster."

"H-he's not a monster!" The timid girl responded. Naruto was slightly surprised she was standing up to someone, let alone for his sake. Then again, were their lives switched he'd probably do the same. She had found someone who didn't treat her like her clan, he was probably pretty important to the young girl.

Ino, on the other hand, didn't seem as surprised.

"You wouldn't know what he's done, would you? He's a monster and I'm not going to let him sink his claws further into you."

That was enough.

Not only would he rather she not inform the others, but for her to think she could come and force Hinata to follow what she said was unacceptable. He had already removed her clan's ability to control her, who was this Yamanaka to think she would be allowed to? It was insulting. He had taken upon himself the wellbeing of Hinata by defying the biggest clan left within Konoha's walls, a mindwalker wasn't about to undo his work.

In a flash one of his chains sped forward only to stop growing, firing off a small length of dissipating chains. The black mist streaked past the face of the Yamanaka heiress. He had yet to manage to keep them solid once he disconnected them and so they wouldn't travel more than a foot or too before they began breaking down. Even had he aimed at the young blonde no damage would have come to her.

But she didn't know that, and neither did any watching students.

"W-what?!" Shouted the girl in indignant disbelief. It wasn't long before her gaze found his crouched form on the roof and the eyes of her fellow students followed quickly after. Many quickly shied away.

The gifts of his godfather were worn proudly today, his hunched body covered by the fur cloak as chains swayed behind him like the tails of a demon. Purple eyes looked down coldly from a face of pale skin and his red hair served only to add further contrast.

To any Shinobi this might be found as an odd sight.

To a group of academy students it was terrifying.

Mōryō's tooth, which rested across the small of his back, was not normally visible. Grasping the blade as he was now, however, brought eyes to it. More than a few were intimidated by the classmate they so rarely saw. He was not like them, he was something else. If Ino was to be believed, he was a monster. Despite her tendency to gossip, right now it seemed she very well may have been right.

"That is enough, Yamanaka." He did not speak as a child. It was like listening to their parent's voices spill across his lips. One day, they might come to learn that it was not a student that was before them, but a shinobi. He was a child, yes, but a shinobi still. And while he had a ways to go before being considered a true shinobi, he was far above them.

Naruto leapt from the academy roof, rolling into a crouch next to Hinata. Helping her up, he rose to a stand, looking down at the shorter heiress before him.

If anything, she only seemed more angered by his presence.

"You!" She hissed.

"I." He confirmed, releasing his blade and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you think you're doing here? You have no place amongst people."

"And you have no place trying to tell Hinata who she may and may not associate with." He spared the girl beside him a quick look before turning back to the angry blonde. "She is under my protection."

"So the Uzumaki ally themselves with the Hyuuga?"

"Hinata is under my protection, the clans are as they have been. This does not concern them."

"It concerns them when you murder a Yamanaka!"

He frowned. He had not intended for such to be known throughout Konoha but children had a tendency to talk and parents were even worse. This would probably be throughout the village by week's end.

"That's not true!" Hinata was quick to his defense. He crushed that immediately.

"It is." He admitted, ignoring the young Hyuuga's horrified gasp.

"He's a monster, he probably enjoyed every damn second of it to." Ino accused. Naruto's eyes hardened.

"Do not speak so lightly of that which you know nothing. What happened on that day is between Tatsuki, myself, and your father."

"You think I don't know, you think the entire Yamanaka clan doesn't know that you killed my aunt to get back at my father?"

Naruto was momentarily surprised. Tatsuki had been the clan head's sister? That he had not known. That certainly made things more complicated. His surprise, however, was taken by Ino as a sign that he hadn't expected people to know why he had torn through her aunt.

"That's right, we all know, and now everyone here knows it too. She may have left the clan, but she was blood, you're not going to get away with it."

Biting down his anger at her accusations and restraining himself from replying with ' _I already have._ ', Naruto responded calmly as if these details were unimportant.

"Nevertheless, Yamanaka, Hinata is under my protection. You will leave her be."

"If she's under your protection then she's against the entirety of the Yamanaka clan." Naruto raised a brow. Those were some rather big words. He had to wonder if she realized exactly what she was saying. Disregarding the part about himself, she was very nearly claiming the Hyuuga themselves as enemies to the Yamanaka. That was a very foolish thing to do, especially in Konoha. She probably didn't mean it that way, but that's why it was so crucial to choose one's words carefully.

Instead, he focused on what that implied about himself.

"Then your clan has proclaimed me as foe?"

"W-well, no, not yet." She admitted.

"Then you proclaim me an enemy of the Yamanaka?" Ino froze. Her father had been going over the basics of clan law with her and she knew that it was well within her abilities to proclaim him as a foe to the clan, but that also involved the Uzumaki clan as a whole. While plenty of her clanmembers would be pleased should she do so, she also knew it was a bad idea to do anything of the sort without first consulting her father.

"No? You tell me that those under my protection are your enemy, and yet cannot proclaim me as foe?" He spat on the ground. She first insults him by trying to take control over Hinata and now she insults him by refusing to follow up her words.

Uzumaki Naruto was a proud young man.

He did not take insults lightly.

"Fine, if you are too cowardly I'll do it myself." He looked about those gathered, noting several clan heirs. It wasn't perfect, but it would suffice. "I, Uzumaki Naruto," He began, looking straight into the Yamanaka heiresses eyes. "of the Uzumaki clan, do renounce the Uzumaki name." The multitude of gasps were ignored.

"I, Naruto of Hi no Kuni, do swear, before this gathering of heirs and the people of Konohagakure, Yamanaka Ino, heiress of the Yamanaka, as my enemy for as long as I should hold grudge. As I swear myself foe to the heiress, so too do I proclaim myself enemy to the Yamanaka. By my word this is spoken, by my will let this be."

Spinning on his heel, he left with one piece of advice.

"You'd best inform your clan, Yamanaka, lest I meet them first."

And then he was gone.

As her best friend Sakura approached her Ino knew, without a doubt, that she had just fucked up.

Her father was going to kill her.

If Naruto didn't first.

* * *

The piece clicked into place as he tried not to notice the stern, disapproving gaze aimed at him by the man across the table. When the man made no move to continue the game, he was forced to meet his uncovered eye.

"That was stupid. Incredibly, incredibly stupid."

Naruto hung his head in shame.

"Yeah," He admitted, his pride throbbing in pain. "It was."

"And what was it, then, that prompted such a thoughtless decision?"

"My pride." Answered Naruto. "I acted out of pride without taking the time to fully think about what I was doing."

The man across from him gave a gruff grunt. "Indeed. But, you said 'fully think'. We both know what you didn't think of, what was it you did?"

"The pride of my clan. This was my problem, my actions, I didn't want the clan associated with them."

"Then be glad you at least thought of that much. Had you not renounced your clan you would still have resources and political sway, but you would have dragged its name through the mud over a petty squabble. She may have died and you may have been the cause but it happened, we must move on."

"Regret is a waste of time."

The man nodded. "And the dead have no need of pride, remember this."

"I will, but I do not expect to be able to humble myself."

A snort of amusement answered his statement. "I did not think you would, you just need to be more careful about where that pride of yours takes you. It's okay to have pride, it's okay to have a lot of pride, but it is unacceptable for a Shinobi to lose control. Restrain yourself, even if you have to use your pride to do so."

"I understand, thank you for the advice, Danzou-Sama."

Danzou just smiled.

* * *

The streets were rather crowded today, far more so than they usual were. Despite the numbers, he easily made his way through the sea of flesh. After his game with Danzou had ended the man gave him a parting word of advice, telling him to be seen within Konoha. He had just declared himself the enemy of the Yamanaka, if he were to not be seen he would look cowardly.

While it was good to remain in the shadows, it was equally important to back up your words.

No promise broken, no threat idle, and everything spoken said with absolute confidence.

Anything less would damage your reputation and reputation was rather important when it came to influence and dealing with the clans.

Naruto was most definitely dealing with the clans; he would need every bit of reputation and influence he could get, especially having revoked his Uzumaki name.

Confident enough people had seen him for now, he ducked quickly into the sanctuary of a local shop for a break from the masses of people.

Paintings covered every inch of the walls, even more stored safely in stacks of frames. It was rather evident that whoever did these did them out of passion rather than to simply make money. Anything sold was likely used to fund the creation of more. One had to admire that in any form of craftsman or artist.

Naruto allowed his eyes to wander over the multitude of canvases, each one a sea of color. For almost an hour he lost himself within the shop, taking time to examine everything. It was as someone appeared behind the counter, however, that his amethyst eyes found themselves drawn to a single piece of artwork on the wall.

It was simple, not in effort, but in design. The blank canvas opened into a mouth and a grey tongue emerged from behind perfectly white teeth. It was what was on the tongue that happened to catch his attention.

The design was odd, but there was no mistaking the fact that it was a seal of some sort. And, while his arm didn't react as it would with a seal such as Hinata's, it did feel a sort of pull to the image. Turning to the pale young man behind the counter who watched him curiously, a boy that couldn't be any older than himself, he inquired;

"Are you the painter?"

The boy nodded.

"I am, my name is Sai. A pleasure to meet you." The smile given seemed fake, unbelievably so, as eyes squinted under a head of short black hair.

"Then tell me, Sai, where did you see this seal?" The change was instantaneous. Eyes snapped open with a seriousness Naruto had not expected to see in another his age.

"Mai!" Called the boy. Within five seconds a young woman with skin just as pale as Sai's emerged from a room behind the counter, long black hair flowing down her back and a disinterested frown gracing her face.

"Watch the counter," He instructed her. "This gentleman was interested in ' _The Root of Silence'_ ; I'm taking him to see our special selection."

Just as the boy's had done, her eyes hardened as they looked over him carefully. She gave a silent nod as Sai motioned Naruto to the stairway.

Following up the pale young man, Naruto was brought to a small, empty room. As soon as he had closed the door behind him he had to block the tanto that went for his neck as Sai lunged at him. His chains wrapped around the blade when it made it within a foot and Sai was quick to surrender it to put some space between the two of them. Considering Naruto's chains had a good bit of range to them that was probably not a good idea. Then again, neither was staying close.

Taking hold of the tanto, he tossed it back to Sai's feet. The boy warily retrieved it, never taking his eyes off of Naruto's chains.

"I suppose I wasn't' supposed to ask about the seal then."

"There are only two types of people who know about it. Considering I don't know you it means you must be a new Rootagent."

"Root? Can't say I've heard of it, can't say I want to. What I want to hear about, however, is that seal and where I can find it."

"And why would you want to know that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Curiosity. I know it's a seal, but I don't have any knowledge on sealing. I have no idea what it might be capable of. I'd like to."

Sai stuck out his tongue, showing the same image that had been painted.

"Oh?" Naruto quirked a brow. "Now that's interesting. What does it do?"

"It keeps us silent."

A grin found its way to Naruto's face. He was certainly glad he had entered this store. "I'm sure there's more to it than that, but you couldn't tell me if you wanted to, could you?"

Sai shook his head in the negative.

"And if I could let you?"

The young man narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You said you had no knowledge of seals."

"I don't." Naruto quickly removed his glove and unwrapped his arm to the elbow. "But with this-," He made a fist and showed Sai the seal that covered his right arm. "I don't need any."

He had been wanting to try this on another seal ever since he had changed Hinata's and this was probably the best opportunity he could get. Not only was there a seal, but secrets. In the Shinobi world, there was little more valuable than secrets.

These secrets were far more valuable than he could have ever hoped.

* * *

 **I hope you all found tonight's production satisfactory, I look forward to seeing you all back for part XIII.**


	13. The First to Kneel

**And here we have chapter XIII, which brings us past 80k words. Chapter XV was going to be 10k, but I may make it a bit longer to get us to that 100k milestone.**

 **As usual, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **There's nothing else I can think to say, so let's enjoy the show, ne?**

* * *

The seal rippled and glowed as his finger brushed over pink flesh. Naruto could only imagine how much of a pain in the ass it must have been to first apply the seal upon such sensitive flesh. As the glow faded and he pulled back his hand Sai looked at him quizzically.

"It's done." Claimed Naruto, much to the other boy's disbelief.

"What? Don't believe me? Try saying something, something you would have never been able to say before. I don't know what else the seal does, but you should be able to talk now. We can change everything else later."

Shooting Naruto a suspicious look, Sai complied. Taking a deep breath he tentatively spoke. "S-Shimura Danzou has been conducting business with Orochimaru." Dark eyes widened as the words spilled easily from his lips.

"You did it." He muttered. "You actually changed his seal." Sai looked at Naruto with awed wonder, as if he were gazing upon a legendary shinobi of old come back from the grave.

"I told you I could." As confident as he sounded, Naruto was relieved that it had actually worked as he had wanted it to, which meant he really had figured out- in the simplest of senses- how this seal of his worked. To think, he possessed the ability to change seals however he wished within his hand. It was actually a bit terrifying. Seals could do absolutely anything if one had proper knowledge, so how much did his seal know and how? He'd have to test the limits latter to see exactly what he could accomplish.

"And the other parts, you can change them too?"

"I can, if I know what they are. Whether I will or not, however, still has yet to be decided."

Sai nodded in acceptance. "Yes, yes, of course. You still no nothing about me, about us." He had to stop when Naruto raised a brow. "Ah, you don't even know how many bear that seal, do you? Come, let's go somewhere we can talk about this more comfortably."

"After you." Naruto gestured to the door as he stepped aside. It would seem he had not forgotten that the young man he was in the room with had recently tried to kill him.

He heard the girl's voice as Sai stepped into her view. "About time you got back, how long does it take to dispatch a single-" She froze as she saw him follow the boy down the last few steps. "Y-you didn't kill him?" She whispered in disbelief, her dispassionate frown slipping to show her shock.

Sai took a quick glance around the shop before answering, making sure no one was there to overhear what he was about to let slip from his tongue. "Shimura Danzou has been meeting Orochimaru and assisting him in the creation of Otogakure."

A sharp intake of breath was her reaction.

"It would seem a very valuable ally has wandered into our humble shop this day." Was the pale boy's way of explaining the matter. "There is much to be discussed, we'll be in the main room. Make sure no one else enters."

She gave a nod and Naruto once again found himself following Sai into unfamiliar territory.

His hand rested itself upon Mōryō's Tooth, just in case.

Behind the counter was a small room, empty save for a table with two chairs and a small bookcase, atop which rested a small potted plant. Sai didn't stop here, however, and moved towards what Naruto could only assume was a storage closet. Unlike the shop entrance and upstairs room, this door slid open to show a space completely filled with unmarked boxes.

Without pause, the boxes were slid aside just as the door had been moments before. A quick look to the floor of the closet reveled tracks and when he looked back up Sai shot him a small grin that looked far more genuine than his earlier attempts at smiling.

There was another door at the back of the closet, hinged like the first two, and the boy was quick to usher him down the stairway it opened to as he closed the doors and slid the boxes back into place.

Waiting for Sai to finish and pass, Naruto fell into step behind him, still not willing to show the boy his back after that little stunt upstairs. The pale young man seemed to understand and made no mention of it as they moved down into a large sitting room.

Tables were scattered about, some covered in books others in maps. Against one wall was a basic cooking area and posted on a different wall was a large board covered in slips of paper. Four couches circled a coffee table in the center of the room. Indicating to one of the plush blue couches, Sai proceeded to prepare drinks for the two of them. Naturally, Naruto had to decline.

"You said you needed to know the entirety of the seal's function in order to fully change it, yes?"

Naruto held up a hand to pause him. "Yes, but first I need to know who exactly it is I'm dealing with. You've mentioned a man by the name 'Shimura Danzou'. I happen to know someone by the name of Danzou, tell me about the one you know."

"Shimura Danzou was the teammate and rival of our Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and is the leader of Root, a private army that takes upon itself the village's dirty work, regardless of whether the village approves of it or not."

"I see, he wouldn't happen to have a bandaged right arm and be missing an eye, would he?" Sai stiffened at the description.

"Yes, that's him. You must have met him then."

"I have." Naruto nodded. "You say his private army is called Root, what can you tell me about them?"

"They are the shadows that protect the great tree of Konoha. Each one is trained and conditioned to serve without question and they answer only to Danzou himself. They have no emotion, no thoughts that do not pertain to the mission. Compared to the average Shinobi within Konoha's employ they are far superior, having been trained like ANBU from the age of six onwards. They are, in a way, Danzou's equivalent of Hiruzen's ANBU, and serve much the same purpose."

"Earlier you claimed not to recognize me and that must have made me Root, what is it you and your…compatriots…have against the organization?"

Sai looked down at the coffee table for a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"They- They took everything from us. Our families, our identities, our very lives, and when they realized that some of us were of no use to them, they tossed us away."

Naruto's brows rose dramatically. From the way he was talking, had Sai been one of those Root operatives? This had the potential to become an extremely beneficial opportunity for him. A group of biter warriors trained for most of their lives before being tossed out, possessing seals they didn't seem too fond of and that he could remove without effort.

Naruto had mused the thought of having himself a pack, but this might be the perfect chance to make one. It was difficult for him to keep the pleased smile that threatened to form from crossing his lips. It wasn't time for that, not yet. He could revel in his victory later, when it was secured. For now, he had more to learn about those who were so spiteful towards the shadows that guarded the great tree.

As Sai had yet to volunteer any more information, it was up to Naruto to keep it flowing.

"From the way you speak of it, am I to assume that you were, at one point, part of Root?"

The pale boy nodded.

"Yes, I was, we all were. We trained for years, doing everything we could to perfect our skills, but it didn't matter. Emotional conditioning is the final step in the training process, we failed. As hard as they tried, we could not let go of the emotions that kept us human, not fully, and so we were considered failures and removed from the program."

"He was not worried about you betraying?"

"The seal was the first thing given to us, it prevents us from speaking of anything that could harm the organization or Danzou and keeps us from disobeying any of his orders."

"He has a seal that complex?"

"He had help. Orochimaru of the Sannin is not renowned for his sealing knowledge but his genius easily makes up for what he does not know. He had been at one time the rival to Namikaze Minato, who is well known to be one of the greatest seal masters in generations. Orochimaru no doubt picked some of it up just being around our Yondaime Hokage."

"Even so, to be able to stop you from disobeying someone, I can't help but wonder how it functions."

"You can't tell?"

Naruto shook his head. "The seal on my arm tells me nothing. I simply think about what I want and it changes the seal accordingly." He looked down at his covered arm. "I don't even know what it's called or who it was who placed it upon me."

"Something that advanced would have had to come from someone at least as skilled with seals as the Yondaime himself, but I'm not sure even his knowledge would have been enough to create such a thing. It is, however, a very powerful gift, one both you and I should be thankful for."

A small smile split Naruto's lips. Of course the boy was still focused on changing his seal, who would want to be bound to someone they hated?

"Well spoken. So, if the seal keeps you loyal, why would he throw you out?"

"For the good of Konoha." Sai grudgingly admitted. "We cannot fit into Root due to our emotions and the way they affect our thoughts during missions, but we are all trained as shinobi despite having civilian status. Should there be an invasion or other such crisis, we would be able to help protect evacuating civilians and assist Konoha's forces."

Naruto's respect for the old man increased greatly hearing that. Others may have disposed of failures, but to have found such a use for them was impressive. They didn't seem too pleased by it, if Sai's words were anything to go by, but even they had to admit it was probably the best way for Danzou to make use of the shinobi he had trained.

"A sound idea, but you do not seem happy about it."

"I'm-we're not. We were trained for more than protecting civilians in the case of an emergency. Some of us have done a decent job readjusting into society, but many of us have not. We shouldn't be here, hiding, waiting, we should be doing something. Covert ops, delivery of sensitive material, tipping the balance between factions, anything would be welcome at this point."

"Anything?" Something about the way he said it made Sai pause. After a moment he met Naruto's eyes and nodded in the affirmative.

"Anything, we can't continue like this."

"Including letting me change your seals from Danzou to myself?" Sai stared at him in shock.

"He has no further use for you, I do. If you need purpose so much you can serve me as you would have him."

"I- I need a moment, please excuse me." Sai stopped part way to the stairs, turning back to the man who had offered him the closest thing he would ever manage to get to the purpose he was created for. "Do you mind if I speak about your offer to Mai? She is in the same position as myself."

Naruto waved him off with a casual flick of his wrist. "Do as you will, my offer extends to all of you. Should it end up being one or a hundred, I shall be pleased."

Though he didn't see it, Sai gave Naruto a quick nod before starting his ascent.

It was not long before his return.

Standing silently to the side of the couch Naruto was sitting in, Sai quickly fell to his knee.

"I cannot yet speak for the others, but if you free us from him we are yours to command."

Naruto didn't even try to stop the large grin that devoured his face.

"Then from this day forth, you are mine."

* * *

Deep, calming breaths were doing nothing to abate his anger. Arms crossed over his chest, he looked down at his seed as she fidgeted before under his wrathful gaze.

"You…did…what?" He hissed through clenched teeth, straining every fiber of his will to keep from yelling.

"N-not me," She claimed. "It was him, he claimed that I was his enemy and so was our clan." The look on his face said that he didn't believe her for a second.

"That so?" Came his growl. "So you mean to tell me he just decided to make an enemy out of our clan on a whim?"

"He killed aunt Tatsuki!"

"We don't know that, we don't know anything about what happened." He paused before he had a chance to lose control. Gods above, had he really raised a child that couldn't stop and think? They were of the Yamanaka for fuck's sake, the mind was everything to them.

"Even if he did," Inoichi continued. "And even if we consider it retribution for what I did to him, he has made no further move against us. For all intents and purposes, we had a ceasefire, a neutrality distrustful as it may have been. Now, that has been broken, and by my old child."

He shook his head mournfully.

"I had hoped to keep this from happening by stopping the others from going against him, but it would seem I should have focused upon you."

"I wasn't trying to make him an enemy." She claimed, ashamed to be standing before her father and admitting her mistakes. "I wasn't even trying to interact with him."

Inoichi paused for a moment. Finally, he commanded "Explain".

"I had noticed that Hinata had been interacting with him," Her father drew a sharp breath when she mentioned the former Hyuuga heiress. Sweet merciful gods above, he prayed desperately that she had not somehow also dragged the Hyuuga clan into this mess. Uzumaki was bad enough, but the Hyuuga would turn them to dust without effort and without any chance to make amends.

"I couldn't stand someone trying to be friendly to that monster," She continued, offput when her father growled at what she had called the boy. "So I tried to convince her to stay away from him during lunch."

"And?"

"He- he didn't like that." She gave a shiver at the memory of him crouched on the academy roof, peering down upon her like a predator waiting to pounce upon prey. "He claimed that she was under his protection and that I was to leave her alone." Inoichi's fists clenched. He had no doubt figured out where this was going.

"I asked him if the Uzumaki had joined with the Hyuuga and he said that the clans had nothing to do with it." She stopped, hesitant to tell her father of her next words.

"You brought her up, didn't you?"

"I-I did." Ino nodded, never meeting her father's gaze. "He got angry and told me not to talk about things I knew nothing about. He said the matter was between you, auntie, and himself."

Inoichi nodded, it was a truth he wished more of his own clan could comprehend. If he wasn't; so busy trying to keep them from doing something stupid he might have the chance to actually speak with the boy and sort the mess out. Or he would have, had his daughter not driven the young man to start this feud between clans.

"Indeed it is, continue."

"He then told me it had nothing to do with the matter at hand. Hinata was under his protection and that was final." Having thought about her words the whole way home in order to make her father see that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, she knew that it was even worse than she had previously believed. She took a deep breath and pressed forward. "I said that if she was under his protection then she was an enemy to the Yamanaka. I had hoped he would back off."

Inoichi scoffed. The last time he had spoken to the Sandaime he learned that Naruto was a proud boy, even when he had nothing for him to be proud of.

"That was foolish and shameful," He admonished. "As a Yamanaka you should have been able to see that he is a proud creature, trying to intimidate him into backing off by threatening someone he claimed to be protecting would do nothing but spur him on. Not only that, but you also threatened a Hyuuga, he would have gained quick allies with them if they wished for retribution."

"I know, I didn't think out my words properly. He responded by asking if the clan had declared him an enemy."

"And how did you respond?"

"I told him that he wasn't, not yet. He asked me if I had declared him an enemy. I remembered then what you had been teaching me about clan law, so I froze. I knew I needed to consult with you about something like this first, but he didn't like my hesitation." She admitted. "I think he was insulted that I could not answer."

Well, at least she wasn't completely hopeless as a Yamanaka. Someone as prideful as Naruto would indeed be insulted by such.

"As he should have been. It meant you didn't have the strength to back up your words and that you hadn't taken things seriously enough to know what was going on before you opened your mouth. I would be insulted too. I take it this was the moment he declared us his enemy?" His daughter nodded.

"At least the Hyuuga haven't been pulled into this, having the Uzumaki as our enemy is bad enough."

This was her chance to escape, but she knew she had to tell him everything lest he try to tackle this challenge without all the facts.

"Um, Tou-san?"

"Yes, Ino?" His voice conveyed the weariness he felt at the moment. She hopped this might make it better.

"The Uzumaki aren't our enemies, it's just Naruto." He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, as an Uzumaki any feud he has is a feud of his clan."

"Well, that's just it. Right before he declared us his enemy, he renounced his clan name."

It made it worse.

Inoichi tensed immediately, going completely stiff.

"A-are you absolutely sure that's what he did?" His face had gone pale and there was a trembling in his hands.

"Y-yes daddy."

Inoichi took a seat and stared out at space for a few moments before meeting her eyes.

"Then there is nothing holding him back."

* * *

Even a day later he couldn't help the small grin resting upon his lips. He may not have many yet, but it was a start, his start. No longer was he relying upon the name of his clan or the political influence they held, but rather he had started to create his own.

Yes, he was currently a small fish floundering within shallow water and bringing unwanted attention to it, but he would make himself one of the great sharks that lived within the dark of Konoha's political sea. Then again, why stop at Konoha? Sai had given him approximate numbers and with that many he may be able to start expanding far sooner than he had thought possible. Of course, it would also mean expanding far too soon. He would need to establish a solid foundation before his tower could start piercing the sky.

Mai was tending to the shop today as Sai notified as many ex-agents as he could find. With just two of them there was little he could do, but that would change in time. He'd just have to be patient.

From his usual perch Naruto could see Hinata through the windows. She had switch seats, moving to sit by the window closest to him and keeping the Yamanaka heiress within her sights at all times. And while the blonde may have glanced in Hinata's direction a handful of times, she had made no move to approach and shown no signs of hostility.

No doubt her father told her how foolish she was to go after a Hyuuga; the results could have been catastrophic for her clan.

Turning his attention to the form of his teacher as the man stood up from his desk, ready to start today's lessons, he was mildly surprised when the door to the classroom opened and someone else entered.

The black hair looked familiar, but the defeated slump was not. It took a moment for Naruto to place him.

' _Uchiha…Sasuke.'_

So it would seem another Uchiha had managed to survive. Curious. He had to wonder exactly how much the young man actually knew.

But, more importantly, he had to wonder-

' _What might your relationship to Mikoto be?'_

* * *

"Naruto!" She called as she entered their usual training ground. The young man was quick to cease his practice with his chakra chains and make his way over to her.

"Yes, Yugao-Sensei?" She had to admit, she really liked the sound of that. Maybe when she was satisfied with her career in ANBU she could take on a team before her retirement. She still had yet to become an ANBU captain yet, though, so that was still quite a ways off, assuming that she managed to live that long. She was a Kunoichi, after all. She had a much shorter life expectancy than a civilian woman.

"I have heard of your recent…issues…with the Yamanaka clan. I trust I do not need to tell you how foolish that was?"

"You do not, Yugao-Sensei. I am aware of my mistakes."

She gave a sharp nod. "Good. Now, we've been focusing on improving your abilities with chakra chains through the use of various chakra exercises, but I think it prudent to teach you some more skills that you can put to use immediately now that you have enemies within the village."

"Of course, what will we be doing first?"

"I've noticed you have a blade. Am I right to assume you have no formal training with it?"

"That is correct, I only recently obtained it."

"Understandable, may I see it?" Without another word he unsheathed the blade and surrendered it to her waiting hand. She spent a moment running a quizzical eye over it before handing it back.

"An interesting blade, does it have a name?" Anyone who cared for a blade named it if the blacksmith hadn't already. Some names made no sense, given for purely sentimental reasons or because they sounded cool, but others could reveal a lot about the blade or the one who had so lovingly crafted it.

"This," He smiled fondly down at his gift. "Is Mōryō's Tooth."

' _M-Mōryō's Tooth!'_

"As in the Mōryō's Tooth?" It may not have been as famous as the Kusanagi, but it was a well-known blade. How could he have possibly gotten his hands on such a thing? There were people who would give anything for such an infamous blade, it was sure to attract attention in the future.

"The very same." He confirmed.

"How on earth did you manage to get it?"

"That, Sensei," He smirked. "Is a secret."

* * *

It had been a long time since his old rival had looked so pleased with himself.

He could have gone with it being longer.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked across his desk to the elderly man sitting across it. Of course, if Danzou was old then so was he, and Sarutobi was not old- he was vintage.

The bandaged, vintage shinobi said nothing, just smirking at him and waiting for the Kage to speak first.

Eventually Hiruzen caved with a sigh.

"What is it, Danzou? What has you so damn pleased?"

"Well, you happen to know I like to sit in the park, do you not?"

"Yes, at the table we used to play at, what of it?"

"I met a most curious opponent recently. He happens to remind me of myself, actually." He gave a slight chuckle at the end.

"And please tell me how this is any of my concern, Danzou. I don't care who it is you play board games with in your spare time, though for men our age it's usually grandchildren."

"Oh, I was simply under the impression that you were rather close to his family. Then again, he recently renounced his clan name, didn't he?"

Hiruzen froze. No, there was no way he was talking about Naruto. If Danzou had managed to sink his claws into the boy- a shiver tore its way through the aged Kage's body. Such could not be allowed to happen.

"What are you up to Danzou, what are you trying to accomplish using Naruto?"

"At the moment? Nothing at all." For some strange reason Hiruzen wasn't inclined to believe the man.

"And so you decided to come tell me that why? Naruto can make his own decisions and it's not illegal for the two of you to meet."

"Of that I am quite aware. But to think you would hide him from me." Danzou shook his head. "Shame on you, Hiruzen, he's just like me. You should have introduced us."

"That's exactly what I was trying to avoid. One of you is more than enough, I do not need a second."

"You speak as if I was trying to change him, he was already like me when we first met. You'd have two of us regardless of if we had ever met."

"I had hoped to delay it long enough to resume my retirement."

"Fair enough." Conceded Danzou.

"Now, was that all you came here to do, Danzou, let me know that you had met young Naruto?"

"Of course not, I came to tell you you've lost him."

Hiruzen shot Danzou a dirty look.

"And how do you figure that?"

"Because he doesn't trust you anymore."

"That's nothing new." Scoffed Hiruzen. "I lost it weeks ago. But that doesn't mean I can't regain it."

Danzou's grin split his face.

"Not when I'm the one he goes to for advice you can't."

Danzou left his office, still grinning in a manner that made Hiruzen wonder if the veteran Shinobi needed help. He couldn't blame him though. Naruto's trust was hard to obtain, especially these days. And, while it might not mean much at the moment, both he and Danzou knew exactly how much that trust would be worth in the future.

It would be enough to completely tip the balance.

Hiruzen only prayed it would be in the right direction.

* * *

Could he be any more goddamn proud of the boy? Gods above he hoped not, because this didn't seem like it would end anytime soon. It felt like just yesterday that he watched the boy take his first life and now he was taking on an entire clan by himself.

It was almost enough to move him to tears.

It would probably move the Yamanaka to tears, too, but that was for completely different reasons. He'd have to keep a closer eye out on the boy now, not to help him with whatever his plans were, but to make sure it was covered up properly.

The thought of what he might have to cover up almost made him giddy with excitement.

Mutilated corpses? Fires? Kidnappings? Political sabotage? Maybe he'd end a few careers or break up some relationships. He could find some way to revoke their clan status within the elemental courts, or turn all the other clans against them. Maybe he'd just stick to harmless pranks, but that wasn't much fun.

Oh, there were just so many ways that the boy could hurt them, the possibilities were so deliciously endless.

And that was to say nothing about how Kushina would react when she learned that the Yamanaka were the enemies of her son. She'd be pissed about him revoking his name, of course, but she'd probably take that out on the Yamanaka too.

This could prove to be so entertaining that he may not read his Icha Icha as much as he usually did. In fact, speaking of Icha Icha, what if he did something like that? Kakashi couldn't help but giggle perversely at the thought.

Naruto could somehow marry the Yamanaka heiress, or seduce clanmembers, maybe he could even have a child with Yamanka blood. Ooh, how sweet a revenge that would prove to be.

Then again, Naruto could have done this knowing that Inoichi would do his best to keep his clan in line and might not have any real intention of doing anything. Just because someone was your enemy didn't mean you had to attack.

It may not have been nearly as fun, but it was valid.

Still, Kakashi hoped that wasn't the case. The heiress had challenged him, it wouldn't do if the only repercussion of her actions was some hostility between the Yamanaka clan and a ten year-old boy.

If Naruto didn't do anything, he might. Naruto might not like it, but he was unlikely to learn if Kakashi had been doing things to make the Mindwalkers tense and paranoid. It could be fun, so long as he didn't push too far. The last thing he wanted was to drive the clan to lash out at him before he was prepared to take them.

No, it was probably better to just lay and wait for now. Either Naruto would act or an opportunity to act on his behalf would surface.

After all, any enemy of Naruto was an enemy of Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

 **And thus ends chapter XIII.**


	14. And the Flowers Tremble

**Turned out a good bit longer than I had been expecting, but I'm sure you're all glad about that.**

 **As always, thanks goes to ncpfan for his aid.**

 **Let's get these damn curtains out of the way, Ne?**

 **Enjoy the show.**

* * *

Sai had spent the last two weeks gathering up everyone he could find; Naruto was rather pleased with the results. Twenty-two fully trained Root failures stood at relaxed attention before him. Sai, who had quickly taken on the role of his right hand man and second in command, stood in the same stance just behind him. Mai was currently above them, manning the shop and ensuring they were not interrupted.

Two dozen people were now his to wield as he saw fit, and all because of a seal he knew very little about and he had ducked into a shop to avoid the crowds of Konoha's busy marketplace. Looks like his luck was starting to turn around. Hopefully, this would not be like the other times things had started to look good before crashing down around him.

Purple eyes quickly ran over the figures before them, taking note of the dark black clothing they all wore. It wasn't what he wanted them to be in, but there wasn't much of a choice right now. They all had similar uniforms from their Root training and he didn't currently have the funding to change it.

What he did have the funding for, however, were the masks they now wore. Twenty-two vicious wolves snarled back at him, their visage forever trapped within white porcelain. The masks had not been cheap, wiping out most of his saving and a good chunk that Sai and Mai had managed to accumulate with their little shop, but looking at his forces, he knew it had been worth it.

Shizune usually called him ' _Little Thief',_ but there had been once when she told him how people had compared him to a wolf. For the remainder of that day she had called him _'Wolf Prince'_. And she wasn't the only one to liken him and his behavior to a wolf. Both Dog and Yugao-Sensei had brought it up several times, mentioning that most of the ANBU thought the same.

Naruto was fine with that, being called a wolf was actually rather flattering, and now he had himself a pack to further cement the views of those around him. He was a wolf, this was his pack, and they would be legendary.

But the time for that was not now, not when they were still so new, so vulnerable. For now they would stick to the safety of the shadows, growing within the concealing darkness until they were strong enough to stand in the light and under the harsh glare of the sun. It could be months from now, but it could just as easily be years. It mattered little, Naruto had patience enough to see this through to fruition. Even if it took him the next century, his pack would make a mark upon history.

Depending on the whims of the gods, he may even have the opportunity to write some of it.

* * *

It had been a very long time since he had last worn something like this. Tattered brown cloth clung tightly around him, rough and dirty. His original cloak had been given to Mikoto when she had fled the village but it was unlikely that anyone would have been able to tell the difference. He wasn't a fan of this cloak, much preferring the one his mysterious godfather had sent him, but that was far too identifying for his current task. Four wolves crouched behind him, blanketed in the darkness of the overhanging roof. Two more were closer to the target and a half dozen of them lay in wait further ahead.

He had not spent much time planning this, to be completely honest. Not nearly as much as he should have considering what he was trying to attempt, but it would have to suffice. This was not nearly important enough to him to warrant such careful and detailed planning, but it was something he needed to do.

If nothing else, this would give him a good idea of his Wolves' ability. He really wasn't someone who could accurately judge their skill, but even he could recognize when someone was good. As it stood, he knew almost nothing about their training save for the fact that it was, supposedly, ANBU level. The thought that he might have a whole pack of Dogs sent a shiver down his spine. It was a terrifyingly exhilarating thought, but he knew that Dog was no average ANBU. No, that man was far above ANBU level, in a class all his own.

It would not surprise him to one day seeing the man wear the Kage hat.

Taking one last look at his wolves, he prepared to make his move only to freeze mid-launch. He had not planned on her being here. It took him a moment to remember that he had originally seen his target visiting that woman. It was a wonder he had forgotten when he had learned most of his more favored choice words by listening to the woman speak. But when he had last met her she seemed to have no recollection of him either, so perhaps it was not so odd that he had forgotten.

She sat down next to the target, both chatting happily, and Naruto found himself with a problem. Not only was she going to make this more difficult, but he had been trying to avoid her for both their sakes. Going after her friend was bound to cause trouble he would rather avoid. He could call it all off easily, losing only the ability to see his forces in action, but was that what he wanted to do?

He could always see how they worked later, this opportunity was nothing and he really gained very little from it aside some good karma. Karma that, he regretfully admitted, he was probably in dire need of if he wanted any hope in his luck not turning completely around yet again.

This was, after all, more for her good than his own. Sure, he may get an ally in her, but the chances were kind of slim. This wasn't the same case as his Wolves, but far closer to the situation Hinata had been in. Of course, his target evidently had friends, which Hinata had sorely lacked. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to call this all off and leave her the way she was. Sure, he had heard about how much she hated it though he still had no idea as to why, but she had friends and a good career going for her. She'd lived with it this long, too, she was most likely perfectly capable of coping with its presence.

So, did he do a good deed and potentially gain an ally, or did he back of and save himself a lot of trouble? Ah, who was he kidding, trouble always seemed to find him, it was best he not try to avoid it. Turning to the Wolves, he beckoned one closer.

"Yes, my lord?" From the voice alone it was a young woman, probably sixteen at the oldest.

"We're sticking to the plan, but there's been a complication." He jerked his head to the table his target was sitting at. His young soldier peered down to the table for a moment before turning back to his face, staring from behind the safety of her mask.

"I understand, we'll keep her from interfering."

Naruto nodded. "See to it you do. Remember, non-lethal and avoid being seen by the populace of Konoha. If she ends up seeing you, so be it, but I would prefer not to be exposed to so many people so soon."

From her crouched position she snapped a fist over her heart.

"By your command, my liege."

Retreating back to her comrades, she relayed his orders, the three others turning from her and giving him a nod to show they understood. If that hadn't been enough, the three gave him the same salute she had and whispered quietly; "We hear and obey, Naruto-Sama."

Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the two women having lunch below them, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. For the next hour and a half the sun beat down upon them, a world of activity swirling beneath their feet, but Naruto and his Wolves did not move. Cold wind had blown about them, manipulating what few leaves remained in a dance like some master puppeteer. The sharp contrast between the cold air and hot sun had not been pleasant but the two Kunoichi seemed comfortable enough.

At long last, an opportunity presented itself.

They had not moved more than a yard from the outdoor table before Naruto had launched himself off the roof and into the crowd below, ducking and weaving amongst the sea of people as he zeroed in on the two unsuspecting women.

Takeout boxes had been precariously stacked within his targets arms and quickly found their way to the ground as he quite purposely ran into her. He offered no word of apology as he turned to face them, never slowing, the upper half of his face covered by his makeshift cloak. His uncaring frown had turned into an aggravating smirk before he turned away from them and continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

He did not see the fury that crossed the woman's face, or the surprised look that crossed her friend's, but he did hear her outraged cry.

"Hey, that was my food, you little shit! Get the fuck back here!"

He didn't have to look behind him to know she had given chase, the fearful looks on the faces of the people in front of him as they scrambled away said more than enough. However, that didn't mean he didn't look back anyway, shooting her a smug grin and casually flipping her off.

If she wasn't enraged before, she was now.

Through half of Konoha he ran, relying on his smaller size to slip through crowds and around obstacles, making sure she was always close enough to see him. He wouldn't have had to worry about her giving up for with every second he evaded her she grew increasingly infuriated.

They were nearing the training grounds when she had become angry enough to start throwing Kunai. The sharp pieces of metal whizzed past his face at speeds he wasn't entirely comfortable with. He was fast enough to throw off her aim, but he was nowhere near fast enough to catch the flying instruments of shabby death or have any chance of blocking them.

Luckily, she still had enough common sense not to go throwing around Jutsu against an unknown within Konoha's walls. Though rude, it was not illegal to run into someone, nor were they then forced to make amends. It was, however, quite illegal to use Jutsu against civilians. And while she may have suspected him to have been Shinobi-trained she had no real way to tell. It was not a risk she was willing to take.

He was damn fortunate in that regard.

Dodging another Kunai as his feet first hit the grass of the training ground, it was time to act.

Mitarashi Anko never saw it coming.

* * *

She cursed in her mind, Anko was far too rash sometimes and was prone to rather violent tendencies. It wouldn't be good if she were to act without thinking and somehow injure the boy that had run into them. The council had it out for her enough, the last thing they needed was for Anko to give the council a legitimate reason to go after her.

That, and there was something strangely familiar about the boy. Hadn't she heard of a young man in such a cloak running about the great village of Konoha? She couldn't quite remember and it was driving her mad as she raced to catch up to the two.

She had just reached the end of the treeline that encircled the training ground when she found a knife to her throat and a hand over her mouth. She was aware of a second presence holding pushing a blade against her right side. She managed to just make out the white mask before her movement was halted by the second presence pulling her head back by her hair, making it far easier for the first assailant to keep his blade to her neck.

Looking down her nose, she could- albeit with some difficulty- make out the cloaked boy being chased by Anko. He had gone straight for the middle of the grounds despite having a better chance to lose the Tokubetsu Jounin in the forests that surrounded it.

It was then that she realized the boy had no intention of escaping his pursuer. No, he was leading her here and Kurenai wasn't in a position to warn her best friend about the danger.

Her fears were confirmed when the young man lifted up his arm, bent at the elbow and fingers splayed. The boy wasn't alone and seeing that the two holding her didn't move in the slightest as he prepared to signal meant there were even more than those holding her captive.

She had to wonder if perhaps the council had finally gotten tired of trying to do things legitimately and had swooped to hiring a group to take care of Anko once and for all.

A fist clenched in the air and her best friend was suddenly on the ground, pinned by five individuals wearing the same black clothing and porcelain wolf masks. A sixth stood next to the boy much like a guard. It would seem as though they had used some rather valuable bait.

She realized as soon as he tossed off his hood, revealing a crown of crimson hair.

' _Naruto!'_

What was he doing with these people, why were they after Anko? She'd have loved to ask but her captors didn't seem like the chatty type, if the blades they kept to her were any indication. Two more figures emerged then, one from either side of her. So there had been four behind her then, they must have been there the whole time with the sole purpose of keeping her away. They had failed or were unconcerned with her bearing witness to their activities so long as she was unable to interrupt them.

The boy in the middle of the field didn't speak, or at least didn't appear to, as he kneeled down in the grass next to her friend. Almost gently he pulled her clothes from her neck, showing the world the accursed symbol that branded her as the discarded protégée of Orochimaru. There was nothing, save Orochimaru himself, that Mitarashi Anko hated more.

But with a simple touch, it was gone.

"I grant you freedom from your seal, Mitarashi-san. Live well." The voice was soft, but it carried well enough to Kurenai's ears. She couldn't believe what she had witnessed, but there was no denying that the seal had been removed.

The two holding her loosened their grip ever so slightly, removing their blades but keeping her arms secure.

"We suggest you take her home, Yuuhi, she is bound to be confused." With that the four surrounding her disappeared, as did the five atop her best friend. Naruto and his guard stayed only long enough for Kurenai to draw close. Giving her a look devoid of any sort of emotion, he turned his amethyst eyes from her and was whisked away by the masked man by his side.

Falling in the same spot Naruto had so recently occupied, she was quick to examine her friend for any other damage.

"I-is it really gone?" Anko asked. She still lay on the ground, but her head had turned to look at her only real friend, her eyes wide with disbelief but filled with a spark of hope.

"Yeah, it's gone."

A large weight seemed to lift itself from Anko in that moment, but her face quickly turned to a scowl.

"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked, confused. Shouldn't she be jumping for joy right about now?

"How am I supposed to celebrate when that fucker spilled all my Dango?"

With the adrenaline leaving her system and relief flooding her heart, Kurenai couldn't help it.

She threw her head back and laughed.

Anko wasn't amused.

"I want my Dango, damnit!"

* * *

Squirming against his bonds did the man no good. He had not been captured by amateurs, but by those who had been trained as weapons for their entire lives. There was no way a rather unskilled Chuunin such as himself was going to be able to escape them, not when he had been enjoying a cushy administration job within Konoha these past few years.

If he got out of this he was going to resume his training immediately.

The metal chair he was tied to squeaked again as he pushed against his ropes once more, drawing the attention of one of his silent guards. The visage of a snarling wolf was more than enough to convince him to sit still.

When the door to the far side of the small metal room he found himself in opened both guards snapped into Konohagakure no Sato's official salute, adopted from the Hi no Kuni they were located within. He was surprised when the person entering was a young boy.

That surprise turned to horror when he identified him.

He had heard that Naruto, formerly Uzumaki Naruto, had declared the Yamanaka heiress and her clan his enemy but he hadn't really believed it. There was talk about going against the boy, but most of it was just nonsense spewed while drinking. Anything that wasn't had been quickly put to a stop to by their clan head, Inoichi. That man wanted to do everything possible from escalating the conflict.

Evidently, his clan's opponent was not of the same mindset.

This was not looking to be a good day to be Yamanaka Kira.

It had been almost a month now since he had become an enemy of the Yamanaka and Naruto was actually rather disappointed. They had done absolutely nothing so far. No move against him, no move to gain allies, nothing.

But that was fine. Their heiress had already shown herself to be weak when it came to her own conviction, but Naruto was not. It may have been a hasty decision, but these people were his enemy now. By the gods, he was going to make them realize that.

And now he had forces of his own to back him up.

Moving to the man bound to the only piece of furniture in the room, Naruto couldn't help but give a vicious grin. It was not a good idea to let the wolf strike first.

He had sent out a letter to the court of Hi no Kuni the day he had first renounced his name and it was just today that he had received a confirmation. His renouncement had been acknowledged by the court, and that meant he didn't have to worry about the Uzumaki name being dragged into this.

He was free to act, and there was nothing to hold him back.

Withdrawing a freshly sharpened kunai from his pouch, Naruto got to work.

* * *

He was awoken by a scream that sent him flying out of his bed and thudding down the hallway. Bursting into his daughter's bedroom, Inoichi froze. His daughter had turned on the lamp that rested upon her nightstand and it illuminated clearly what had been done to the wall across from her bed.

' _The Wolves prowl beneath the shade of the Great Tree.'_

He didn't even need to question whether or not the crimson writing was actually genuine, as a shinobi he knew exactly what it was when he first laid eyes upon it and the smell was unmistakable-

As unmistakable as the long blonde hair that hung down the wall, tied to a kunai that had been quite solidly jammed in.

It was probably what had woken his daughter. Also of note was the fact that dangling from the end of what could only be the hair of a Yamanaka was the scull of a canine. A wolf, if the words written upon his daughter's wall was anything to go on.

He was aware of his wife comforting his daughter and moved towards the curtains dancing in the cool night breeze. The window had not been open earlier, he had made sure it was locked himself when checking on his sleeping daughter before retiring to bed. He had been worried that Naruto might try something and had hoped it would be enough to dissuade the boy.

But he did not know who these 'Wolves' were.

Peering out into the night, he quickly got his answer.

Directly across from him, crouched upon a nearby roof, Naruto stared back at him. Flanking the boy were two figures in wolf masks, both standing on the downward slope of the roof behind him so as to just barely reach the same height as the former Uzumaki.

Cold amethyst eyes gazed at him impassively.

' _Your move.'_ They dared him. This was more than a threat, this was a show of power. Naruto could have very easily taken the life of the Yamanaka heiress, his sworn enemy, but, more than that, he could have taken the life of the clan head's daughter, Inoichi's daughter, his daughter.

The thought filled his heart with dread.

If anything, the boy was being merciful by giving this warning. It was obvious that the lack of action on the part of one of Konoha's clans had displeased him. They were a large group of trained family members and he was, or had been, a single boy, and yet they had not moved against him.

He must have assumed that they thought little of him to ignore the fact that they were enemies, this was his way of reminding them exactly who they were dealing with.

They would not have to be reminded again.

Yes, Inoichi had known he was a threat, but that's why he was trying to avoid instigating anything further. It would seem his efforts had backfired, insulting the prideful creature on the roof across from him and bringing this upon himself.

The boy made no move other than to point towards the gates of the clan compound, where he noticed a group of his clanmates shouting in panic. When he turned back, there was no sight of the boy, nor his wolves.

The clan would need to be made aware.

And he would have to come up with a way to fix this mess.

* * *

Unacceptable. Un-Fucking-acceptable.

They thought they could stand against his godson? The godson of Orochimaru? The fools!

Hasty steps thudded down the corridors of his home, passing terrified works and cautious soldiers.

"You two, with me, now!" Without argument, but with a great deal of trepidation, two Oto shinobi fell in line behind their master.

Deeper and deeper they went, until Orochimaru had finally found what he had been looking for. In a room completely dedicated to studying the various clans of Konoha, the snake Sannin made his way to the far wall, where failed experiments were being preserved within special tubes.

Bloated bodies twisted into inhuman shapes cried out in agony at his approach, their minds having been driven to almost nothing by his cruel experiments in an effort to understand the mind powers of the Yamanaka. Taunt, translucent skin did nothing to hide what lay within, veins pulsing with thick black liquid that the Sannin knew for a fact felt like the burning of a thousand suns as it pumped through the flesh.

He hadn't ever found a use for them, until now.

Orochimaru turned to the Oto shinobi behind him, both staring in unconcealed horror at what they were being shown. They had seen a lot working for him, but nothing like this.

Gesturing the bodies that, while deformed, were unmistakably of Yamanaka blood, the pale man gave his orders.

"Take them to Konoha, all of them, and place them all around the Yamanaka compound. I want some nailed to the walls, I want some impaled on spikes in public spaces, I want people to wake up to them in their beds. Let them know that their loved ones have returned and that they'll share the same fate if they think they can go against the godson of Orochimaru of the Sannin."

"Y-yes, Orochimaru-Sama."

Orochimaru went to walk away before he paused, turning to look over his shoulder.

"Cut a few of them open," He commanded, "And fill them with explosive notes."

"I don't want them to ever forget what it means to cross my Crimson Prince."

* * *

Kurenai gave a sigh as she followed around her best friend. Well, followed wasn't all that accurate. 'As she was dragged around' was more like it, the Tokubetsu Jounin refusing to release her hand as they searched for the elusive purple-eyed wolf.

Two weeks after she had been released from Orochimaru's _Ten no Juin_ she decided that she probably needed to meet the boy and thank him. She mentioned something about it being the proper thing to do, but Anko was never proper, as her choice in clothing could attest to. But whatever reasons the woman had for wanting to thank the boy so much- easily attributed to how significant this was to her- she had dragged Kurenai along.

Quite literally.

But the Genjutsu mistress had searched for the better part of two years, what made Anko think she was going to find him in just one afternoon?

"Hey, Kakashi!" Anko waved down a dog masked ANBU who lazily dropped down to approach them.

"I'm on duty, Mitarashi, you can't be giving out my name like that."

The woman just shrugged, uncaring.

"You know Naruto, right?"

"I do." He offered no more than that.

"Then where is it he lives?" Even hidden behind his mask, Kurenai could see Kakashi's brow raise questioningly.

"And why exactly do you need to know something like that?"

Instead of answering immediately, Anko proudly pulled her shirt away from her neck, revealing unblemished skin.

"I need to thank the brat for getting rid of it for me." Only Kurenai heard the growl he gave when Anko called the boy a brat.

"If you show him the proper respect as the one who had the capabilities of doing something like that, I'll take you to his apartment."

Kakashi actually knew where he lived? Kurenai nearly smacked herself. Of course he did. As distanced as he had always been, he had always been fond of his Sensei's children. She really should have asked him near the beginning of this mess, but at the same time there was no guarantee that he would have actually given up Naruto's location.

"Deal, now let's go get this over with." Despite trying to sound like this was the last thing she wanted to be doing, it was easy to hear the excitement in the woman's voice.

With a shrug, Kakashi grabbed their shoulders and a moment later they were before a rather plain residence.

"Have fun, you two, I don't do anything I wouldn't." Kakashi paused, "Except little boys, I suppose. I might not do them, but if you really want to show your gratitude…" He trailed off with a shrug, disappearing before the Kunai Kurenai threw at him had a chance to make contact.

"Damn pervert." The red-eyed woman muttered, shaking her head.

Knocking gently on the door, they were surprised when it was opened a moment later by a young girl with long black hair. She seemed just as surprised to see people knocking on the door.

"Naruto!" The girl called back into the apartment, "There are two women here to see you!" She gave Anko a quick once-over before adding, "And I think one of them's a hooker!"

Kurenai had to hold back the fuming woman before she attacked the girl who couldn't be older than twelve.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" There was a muffled response but the girl seemed to hear it well enough, slipping through the doorway and starting down the street.

"Go on in, he'll be with you in a minute." She called back without looking.

Pushing her friend into the residence of her Sensei's son before she had a chance to run after the girl, Kurenai was surprised by how simple and clean it was.

There was a kitchen area, a small table for four, a coffee table, a couch, and a bookcase. She could see no decorations, so stains on the walls, no dirty dishes in the sink, nothing that would make her think a ten year old boy lived here. It was as if he had just moved in that day.

A fuming Anko cheered up as soon as Naruto walked into the room from what Kurenai had to assume was a bedroom. Just what had Naruto and that girl been doing in his bedroom? Kurenai felt her face flush at the implications and Kakashi's parting words.

A purple missile interrupted her less than appropriate thoughts as Anko crashed into the boy, squeezing him tightly to her chest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She had no idea that Hyuuga Hinata had said the exact same thing when he helped her last month.

"No problem." He managed to grunt out, his face flushing almost as red as his hair as he was pressed into Anko's rather generous bust.

Anko frowned down at him for a moment before an even bigger grin split her face.

"You're the boy who Inoichi was questioning, aren't you?"

"I am, and you're a bit early for that dinner. I still have two years before I graduate."

Anko gave a hearty laugh. "I had almost forgotten about that."

Kurenai shot her a puzzled look and Anko immediately clamped up.

"What are yo-"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Naruto shook his head, looking at a nearby clock. "It's a bit early for dinner, perhaps I could offer the two of you some tea?"

"Sure, why not?" Anko was quick to take a seat at the table. Giving a sigh at her friend's antics, Kurenai turned to Naruto.

"That would be lovely, Naruto." He seemed to think for a moment before he let a confused frown settle on his face.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met." He walked up to her and held out his hand. "I'm Naruto of Konoha, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

His close proximity felt like a warm blanket on a winter's night, bringing with it a comfort that made her feel horribly exposed. Tightening down on instincts that screamed at her not to trust this strange being before her, this young man that didn't make her skin crawl but instead sent pleasant shivers down her spine, Kurenai placed her hand within his, fully understanding what he was doing.

He was giving her another chance, willing to start anew as if they had never met before.

There was no way for her to fully express her gratitude to the gods for giving her the chance.

"Yuuhi Kurenai, and the pleasure's all mine." She felt her heart speed up and her cheeks darken as he brushed his hand against his lips.

"If you say so."

Kurenai was sure she would have made a fool of herself if things had lasted any longer. As it was her instincts were going haywire and the last thing she wanted to do was push him away after he had given her a chance to be a part of his life. Luckily, she was here with Anko and Anko was, well, Anko.

"We having some tea or are you two going to be having yourselves a cup of coffee?"

Naruto gave a chuckle before releasing Kurenai's hand and making his way into the kitchen.

"You're quite right, Anko, I'll start it immediately."

As the three sat around his table, talking quietly about any subject that popped into Anko's mind and enjoying cups of hot tea, neither of the women noticed the chakra chains coiled within Naruto's sleeves nor the Wolves hiding in the corners, ready to cut the two of them down the second Naruto gave the signal.

If they were fortunate, they would never know.

* * *

The darkness of night covered him, hiding his identity as he slipped into a rather dingy bar that had seen far better days. He moved to the back room and was let in without a word, the man with the face of a wolf closing it behind him and resuming his guard.

There was little in the room, a single table and two chairs. In each corner stood a figure in a wolf mask and the boy across the table from him was flanked by one on each side. He had come alone, hoping to fix this mess, but his clan's greatest enemy did not have much faith in the supposedly peaceful nature of this meeting.

"Naruto." Greeted the head of the Yamanaka, meeting that purple gaze that was far too cold to belong to a boy so young. Then again, no boy that young should have a small army at his disposal. Naruto was no mere boy, he was a very, very dangerous young man and it still amazed Inoichi that the son of Kushina had turned into this. Had he ever met the boy before his mother had left, he probably would have been able to predict something like this. Naruto had a far greater future than most children even dared to dream.

"Yamanaka." Inoichi winced. Not even by his given name, but as if he were just another clanmember.

Sitting down, he intertwined his fingers and gave a sigh.

"Look, let's cut through any bullshit and get right down to it." Naruto raised a brow, but stayed silent. "My family fucked up, big time, trying to take you on. They might not know it, but I do. I thought you'd stop at the first threat, at least for a while, but then you sent the bodies…"

"Bodies?" Naruto seemed genuinely confused.

"Bodies from missing Yamanaka turned back up, mutilated and proudly displayed thoroughout the compound. Some of them were filled with explosive notes."

The former Uzumaki gave a concerned frown. "The only body was that of Yamanaka Kira, who I shaved bald and carved the head of a wolf into his flesh. His limbs were broken by my wolves and we removed his finger and toenails before taking enough of his blood to write upon your heiress's wall. That is all we have done thus far."

"So you don't have any idea who may have done this?"

"No, I have an idea. I simply did not realize they would be so quick to my aid without contacting me."

"An ally of yours then?"

"Something similar, yes."

Inoichi frowned but said no more. Had Naruto done it he would have been quick to claim credit.

"I see, well, that aside, I realize that things are beginning rather dangerous. Even if it wasn't you, the clan thinks you're behind it. Some, wisely, are quite terrified and see how foolish it was to challenge someone who has nothing to hold him back, but the others are simply using this as a reason to take action. It's harder for me to keep my clanmembers under control and you've shown just how seriously you're taking this."

Inoichi gave a deep sigh.

"I know it was my daughter that made things this bad, my clan knows it too and they love her for it. They want revenge for Tatsuki and feel Ino has given them the perfect opportunity."

The Yamanaka head didn't miss how Naruto had flinched when he spoke his sister's name.

"I know you won't back down and there's no chance my clan will. I don't want any bloodshed, but my clan needs to learn when to back down."

"What are you proposing?"

"If you swear to keep things non-lethal, I'm willing to step back and let Ino direct the clan for the duration of this feud."

Naruto stared at him, disbelief written clearly over his face.

"She may have managed to keep the clan afloat in times of peace, but against an enemy? Your clan will be brought to ruin."

"And if this continues, there's a good chance the clan won't survive to see the next Hokage."

Naruto nodded. "A fair point, but I find it hard to believe you'd be willing to let this happen."

"If rebuilding our clan from ruinous ashes is what it takes for my clan to learn, so be it. You're in a far too advantageous position at the moment; we have no real way to fight back. If I let them try, at least they will understand exactly why I wished to avoid this."

The redhead thought for a moment, pondering this, before sighing with a nod. "So be it, Inoichi, I will play along. I did not wish to weaken this great forest anyway. I will fight them, then, from the shadows, and bring them to their knees. Just make sure you are prepared to pick your clan back up."

The two clasped hands in a firm shake and Inoichi turned to leave. Before he could make it fully out the door, however, Naruto's soft voice stopped him.

"She was my first friend, you know. I never meant to hurt her."

Squeezing his eyes shut at the mention of his sister, Inoichi nodded.

"I suspected as much, but thank you. You have put my mind at ease."

"You're a good man Inoichi, I look forward to the day I graduate and can call you my comrade."

Inoichi smiled as left.

"All of us who live beneath the great tree are comrades." He mumbled.

"Even when we're at each other's throats."

* * *

Murky water went up to her knees as she sloshed through what she thought to be a sewer. There were only two years to go and her mother had decided it was finally time for her to learn to control the power that was locked within her.

Now if she could only find that stupid fox, she'd punch it straight in the nose and demand that it give her its power. The plan was foolproof.

Coming across a rather large and out of place cage door, she eagerly ran towards it, splashing loudly through brown water. When no fox appeared to greet her, she became rather curious. Her mother had warned her about getting close, but she couldn't even see where it was. Surely it would do no harm to get a bit closer so she could see, right?

Walking all the way up to the cage with confidence that flowed thinker within her than her Uzumaki blood, she still couldn't see the fox. Looking both ways, as if afraid her mother might be watching, she scrambled over the gate.

The inside was nothing like the outside. The outside was empty and plain but this, this was a warzone. Giant pillars of rubble littered the area, surrounded by the murky water she had sloshed through to get here which made them seem like islands. Chunks of wood were scattered about and every so often she could see bits of metal shining in the darkness.

Walking deeper, she eventually heard sobbing. Glad to finally find something of interest, she went towards the sound as quickly as she could, all caution thrown aside.

What she found was not at all what she had been expecting. A woman looking much like Uzumaki Mito was collapsed upon a pile of rubble, small waves of murky water lapping at her tattered dress. Her skin, pale as the moon, clung tightly to a body that was almost withering away. Hair as orange as a sunset was a tangled mess behind her, dirty and uncared for.

When the woman heard her approach her head shot up, red dull red eyes, puffy from crying, darted towards her. "N-Naruto?" The woman helplessly cried, as if desperate for her brother. But wasn't this supposed to be the Kyuubi? How did she know her brother?

"No, I'm his sister, Naruko." Before she knew it, the nine tailed fox was clutching her like a life line.

"Please." Begged the fox. "Oh gods, please, you have to take me to him! You have to bring me back to him!"

"Wha-"

"I'll do anything! Anything at all, just get me to him!"

Naruko didn't know why the fox was so desperate for her brother, but she had heard what the woman had said. An almost wicked smirk grew on the young Uzumaki's face. Her mother was going to be damn shocked when she found out.

"Anything?"

* * *

 **See you all next week for our double-length special.**


	15. A Good Girl She Is

**Cutting it a bit close with this one, but here's that double chapter I promised.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan, as you all well know.**

 **Also, I'd like to thank DragonPony022 for sharing with me some fanart they created for this story which can be found at anarchyhamster(dottt)deviantart(dottt)com/art/Sealkeeper-He-Who-Binds-596042438?ga_submit_new=10%253A1457747167**

 **Not much more to say really, you know other than the fact that this chapter marks the 100,000 word milestone. Can I get a fuck yeah?**

 **Now, enough celebrating, raise the curtains!**

* * *

One almost couldn't hear the eternal rain as it cascaded from the heavens. It always rained in this place so aptly named Amegakure no Sato. The rain hid this place, and it hid it well. It was the perfect location for people such as these, for people like her.

The silk of her cloak was cool against her bare skin, sending small tingles down her spine. Her shirt had not survived her travels, reduced to tatters by the time she had arrived under the ever-grey skies. Her pants had not fared better, but they had been salvageable and now hugged her hips as a pair of shorts that only went to mid-thigh. Still, it had been better than nothing. She had started her journey with very little and had not yet had a chance to gain things of her own.

It had been two months now, but it took three weeks just for her to get here. There had been no opportunities as of this moment for her to obtain some money to spend on a new wardrobe. Luckily she had been given a generous amount of cloaks which she would be able to use well enough until proper clothing could be procured.

What little she had on her upon her departure was spent getting her here and that which she had found slipped into her shiruken pouch by a redhead that apparently couldn't take no as an answer when it came to helping her in her time of need was promptly spent on spare changes of undergarments.

She would definitely be giving the young man a piece of her mind for slipping the money into her pouch when she had already been hesitant to take from him but he would also be getting a great big hug for the help it had been.

Thinking of the boy brought a warmth to her chest, despite the cold fabric that rubbed across it with every breath. He had known of her only through his mother, a woman who had abandoned him, and yet he had not hesitated to aid her that night. Admittedly, she did not know much about the young man. She had seen him a handful of times when visiting Kushina, but never had she actually spoken to him.

It was a thought that brought with it pangs of regrets. Would she have gotten closer to him had they spent time together? Would she have been an aunt or even a second mother to the boy? It was a missed opportunity now, he was no longer the little boy who hid behind his mother's legs and yet refused to leave in fear of her safety. No, while he had always been quiet and reserved much like her own son Itachi, the Naruto that comforted her that night had matured greatly.

Considering the maturity that he had already displayed not long before Kushina had taken his sister and left Konohagakure no Sato, that was saying quite a bit. Of course, he had good reason for his maturity. He was, after all, the man of the house. It fell to him to make sure his mother and sister were taken care of, even if he really wasn't ready for such a task and his mother had been perfectly capable of taking care of the household.

In the end it hadn't been those actions, but that mentality, that view of the world already so burdened by duty and responsibility, that had brought such changes to the boy originally. Or, that's what Kushina had once told her as they sat in the back garden one lazy Sunday afternoon, watching as little Naruko ran about chasing butterflies. Naruto had instead been sitting nearby, close enough to be present but far enough not to overhear the adults' conversation. He had several books strewn about him that day, but his gaze rarely fell to them. No, he had not distracted himself with his reading but rather watched carefully over his sister as she enjoyed herself. His lips did not raise as he watched her, but were drawn down into a small frown by the burden he had placed upon himself.

She could still remember clearly the look in his eyes, the longing to join her in her carefree afternoon, but he had remained sitting near the table. The boy had practically lived for the sake of his family and wouldn't hesitate even a second before sacrificing his desires for the happiness and wellbeing of the two women in his life.

And that fact only served to make her more upset with Kushina. There were two things above all else that the Uzumaki treasured; their word and their family. And yet Uzumaki Kushina, head of the Uzumaki clan, had seen it fit to leave behind her son as she and her daughter gallivanted about the elemental nations.

Would it really have been so hard to bring him to the Uchiha compound to stay with her for a few years? She really didn't want to have to drag Naruto into her clan problems then, but Kushina would have noticed that something was wrong and may have been able to get her and her son out of there.

Okay, so perhaps some of her anger stemmed from bitterness, but she knew how hard it would have been for her to leave her sons behind. Even when Itachi had gone on standard patrol missions within the village she was worried until he returned. How could Kushina have possibly justified her actions?

She knew the woman had to have a reason though; she was not so ignorant as to immediately assume the worst of the woman. Kushina may have been rather impulsive and she may have had a tendency to overreact, but even Kushina wouldn't have left her son behind without a reason to do so.

For whatever reason, Kushina had left him, but perhaps that had actually been for the best. Had she not, he would not have been there to shelter and comfort her on the horrid night. Who knows if she would have managed to make it out of Konoha alive?

Even if she had managed to flee successfully, what reason would she have to live? Tension within her clan had strained her relationship with the Uzumaki head to the point where it was often hard for her to think of the two as friends anymore. Perhaps that's why Naruto hadn't been left with her, which turned out to be a very fortunate thing indeed. Itachi may have betrayed the clan and Sasuke may have been lost- and most likely killed- during the clan's eradication, but Naruto was still there.

She might not have been the boy's biological mother, and she had no intentions of attempting to replace the woman, but by the gods she would do what she could for the last person she had. And to think, she only actually spent a night with him, a single night of sobbing and sleeping. She didn't even know him, but that was still more than she could say about anyone else at this point.

She really had no one else left.

But at least she wasn't alone.

Well, not completely. Sure, he couldn't be here with her and she couldn't do anything to help him at the moment, but the warmth in her chest reminded her that he was still there and would always be there if she ever needed him. The feeling was pleasant and comforting, reassuring her that despite all that had happened, not all was lost. The feeling, this affection, reminded her much of what she had felt for her sons, what she had once felt for Kushina, and what she had felt for Fugaku before the stress and pressure of being the clan head of the Uchiha had broken the fun loving man and left him as nothing but a cold, power-hungry monster. She blamed the clan's recent problems, mostly their extermination, on the man her husband had become, but she blamed the creation of that man upon the clan itself. It truly was a vicious cycle that had brought about their own destruction.

And now there were only two left.

But what were the chances that with only two Uchiha remaining that both would end up being in the same country? The same village? The same building? What about across the fucking room? Peering over the shoulder of Zetsu, who she stood behind, she could see her eldest son standing across from her, staring at Pein in disinterest. The pleasant warmth in her chest turned into an inferno of white-hot rage every time she laid eyes on him. He had betrayed the clan but, more importantly, he had taken everything from her. The only thing about him that was even slightly redeemable was the fact that by taking away everything that she had and everything that she once was he had ended up driving her to Naruto. This man, no, this dog across from her was not her son, Naruto was. And for him she would remain here, watching, so that he might stay safe.

She didn't know exactly what they wanted yet, her backer had not fully elaborated, but when it involved so many S-rank Shinobi it was worth keeping an eye on.

Pein said something and Zetsu stepped aside, letting those of the circle see her, but she did not worry about being recognized. Uchiha Mikoto had died as far as the world was concerned and no one here could see her face, hidden as it was behind a mask.

"As the newest member of Akatsuki, under the guidance of Zetsu, is there anything you would like to say?" Questioned the leader of Ame, his purple eyes peering at her calmly. Pein was the only one in this room, sans Zetsu, that had any idea as to who she was. He may not have known her real name, but he did know who it had been who sent her here with the half-plant.

Tilting her head to the side for a moment in thought, she nodded in the affirmative. Hips shaking as she bounced on the balls of her feet like an excited child, the words she spoke rolled of her tongue and sprang fourth from her mouth like a song, clearly head despite the orange porcelain that concealed her features.

"Tobi is a good girl."

* * *

"Keigo and Ren have returned from their mission, they report it as a success."

Hidden behind stacks of paper, Naruto nodded at his desk.

"Thank you, Mai. Tell them to get some rest, they've been running missions back to back for two weeks now."

"Of course, Naruto-Sama. Is there anything you need before I leave?"

He rifled through piles of papers for a few moments before withdrawing a folder that quickly found itself in her hands.

"It's the updated mission list; post it in the assignment office. If you see Sai let him know that he's absolutely horrible with money and that I need to talk to him about going over budget- again."

"Yes, Naruto-Sama. Is that all?" He thought for a moment before giving her a charming smile.

"Would you mind having some food sent up? I've been stuck in here all day trying to fix Sai's mess." The young man was a highly skilled Shinobi and had a way with the troops, but he didn't understand money in the slightest. Had Mai not been running the shop with him it would have no doubt gone out of business within the first week.

From a dispassionate frown, the young girls lips quirked upwards into a small smile.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you're fed. Next time, however, I expect you to take a break by telling me we're going out for some lunch."

Helplessly, Naruto looked up to the clock- Half past four- and back at the stacks before him. Struggling to make the decision for a minute, he eventually hung his head with a defeated sigh. There was just too much to be done at the moment.

"Yeah, next time." He nodded mournfully. She stifled a laugh behind her hand and went for the door.

"I'll be back in an hour or so, Naruto-Sama. Good luck with your work." Closing the door behind her, Naruto was left alone in his makeshift office. Giving another deep sigh, Naruto let his eyes wander over the room. Unfortunately there was little to see.

The walls were plain, barren of everything save a single clock, and there were no windows to gaze out of. A bookshelf was tucked into a corner next to which was a filing cabinet. The only light in the room was from a lamp near the door and one on his desk, casting most of his office into rather risky shadows. He'd have to see about fixing that, but they were already contemplating the merits of a proper building to house the pack. Maybe he'd hold off on that for now, it wasn't like they had a lot of money to throw around in whatever manner might strike their fancy. They needed to use what little resources they had sparingly, which was the reason he was so irritated by Sai's inability to keep to the rather generous budget he had provided.

Well, no use crying over spilt milk, he'd just have to make sure it didn't happen again and send Sai on a few missions to cover the extra expenses. Of course, saying that sounded far more simple than it actually was. They were trying to keep a low profile at the moment, which means they didn't have requests pouring in. No, they had to find the requests themselves, making cautious contact with those who were having troubles and contemplating going to a hidden village for help. One might even say that they were intercepting missions, and that was proving to be no easy task.

It was also paying far less than Naruto would have liked. Yes, the missions were being taken by Shinobi, but they were not of any village. That placed them below a village which could send backup and above a group of mercenaries. So, while the pay wasn't all that bad, they should have been getting a lot more, which would have made everything much easier.

Well, there was nothing he could do at the moment, not until they had firmly established themselves and were ready to defend against any would-be aggressors. Considering this was the Shinobi world, they would come crawling out from all around the second they got wind of another group trying to get a start. They were easy pickings right now, no point in tempting those who could rip out their throats.

It would be at least another year before they could really start anything, but that was fine. It would take some time to get used to this and properly arrange everything anyway. He was going to be a Shinobi, he wouldn't be able to have such an active role when he was focusing on his career. He did not have the luxury of being retired as Danzou did. Though, in all fairness, the warhawk had certainly earned it.

Fortunately, Naruto had people he could leave most of the managing to in his absence. Sai was horrible with money, but he was a competent leader when it came to the wolves and had a talent for knowing which missions would go well and which would end up requiring more Shinobi or ready backup.

They typically avoided those.

Mai, on the other hand, was brilliant at managing the budget and keeping track of everything that was going on. Sai was great, and he was glad that he had met the pale young man, but he appreciated Mai a hell of a lot more. If not for her, they wouldn't be doing nearly as well as they had been. That's not to say they'd be in serious trouble without her, but her presence had helped them progress at a tremendous rate.

They had both grown on him, showing themselves to be reliable and competent, but he could not deny that he favored Mai over Sai. She had become something of a personal assistant to him ever since he had formed this pack and he greatly enjoyed her company. This did not feel like Tatsuki or Mito had, but rather a friendly companionship in which two individuals simply shared the pleasant feeling of not being alone. And while like Hinata he felt a need to protect her, partly out of duty as her leader, he also knew that she was perfectly capable of looking after not only herself, but his pack in his absence.

It was a refreshing change, one that helped him greatly. For two people to be close and yet remain so separate made every conversation a relaxed affair in which he didn't have to tell her what thoughts might be bothering him and she didn't tell him of what bothered her. Just two people escaping their problems with some pleasant company, like cleansing the palate for a quick respite before life presented you with the next dish of problems to deal with.

Should she leave, as those he had grown close to before had, he would miss her, but he also felt as though it would be far easier for him to accept. There were no heavy emotions associated with her, just cheerful memories, and for that he was grateful. He didn't know if he could go through all of that again.

Of course, he also knew he wouldn't have to.

His wolves were loyal, some almost to the point of fanaticism, and they would not leave his side. He would never have to worry about them betraying him, their seals had been modified to ensure such. It was unnecessary, but the precaution helped put his mind to ease.

No, his wolves were the only people he could rely on, a strong foundation that would give him stable footing in this chaotic whirlwind of life. And just as they took care of him, he would look after them.

It was almost like having a family again.

* * *

The drink was poured quickly and downed even more swiftly. Placing the empty glass down, Hiruzen contemplated another drink. He'd had four this afternoon and was well aware that a drink or two more would mean he couldn't do anymore work and he really didn't want to deal with the last of today's paperwork when he'd no doubt have a mountain of new papers waiting for him in the morning. At the same time, after two drinks he really shouldn't have been doing anything concerning the running of Konohagakure no Sato.

Not that he'd been doing much of his work anyway, too lost in thought. He hadn't actually touched any of his work since after his lunchbreak, instead he had chosen to stare out at the village he loved so dearly.

It offered no answers to his problems.

Problems which primarily concerned the only redhead currently in the village. Sure, most of them were technically with the Yamanaka clan and their 'mysterious' assailants who identified themselves with the image of the wolf, but he was no fool. Had he made mistakes before? Lapses of judgement at crucial times? Absolutely, who hadn't? But he was old, not blind. Even he could see that the Yamanaka were perfectly fine even after Naruto had delivered the cold corpse of Inoichi's sister to the man.

It had not been until Naruto had renounced his Uzumaki name and declared the Yamanaka heiress his enemy that these Wolves had started wreaking havoc upon the clan of Mindwalkers. Could it be coincidence? Yes, it could be. Coincidence, poor timing, great timing, it could be all manner of things. He would not rule out the possibility that this group was taking advantage of the boy's declaration to keep people believing he was behind it, but he likewise couldn't rule out the idea that Naruto may have found himself some rather skilled allies to aid him in his little war against the Yamanaka.

He knew how foolish it was to underestimate Naruto's capabilities. Something along the lines of starting his own private army was not something Hiruzen needed to be convinced the boy could do. He was well aware that the boy had remarkable potential and something so basic was well within his capabilities.

He had learned the dark truth of one of Konoha's biggest secrets within a few hours of its happening for fuck's sake! Underestimating him, civilian or not, was not to be done. Then there was the matter of his ANBU, all of which seemed rather fond of the boy.

Some might even say too fond, considering they had allowed him entrance and free reign within the Uchiha district despite Hiruzen's direct order that no one was to enter. Gods above, they had defied his orders in a time of crisis because they approved of the young man's rather Shinobi mentality. That wasn't the end of it either. Ever since Naruto had become the sworn enemy of the Yamanaka the clan had been receiving hostility from the ANBU.

You did not want to be the subject of ire when it came to Konohagakure no Sato's Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai.

Luckily, things had remained rather mild.

Well, mild in the sense that no one had been grievously injured. There had been a few suspicious accidents during training, but there was no way for Hiruzen to know if some of them had been legitimate accidents or if ANBU agents were lashing out.

There were other ways they were lashing out, though, such as surprise reevaluations that more often than not ended careers and removed Yamanaka clan members from the ANBU forces. Passively, they had taken upon a blind eye policy to anything that happened around the clan compound or even involved one of their blood. In most cases they favored any non Yamanaka involved which usually resulted in a lot of Yamanaka receiving disciplinary action or even being forced to retire early.

The Mindwalkers were not pleased, but there was little Hiruzen could do about it. Usually situations such as these would have been taken care of by the Mindwalkers themselves, and therein laid the problem. Not only would the Mindwalker performing the interrogation be suspect of answering in favor of the clan, but even if they got one who was honest they wouldn't know if the one being interrogated was hiding things.

And because of that, he had to take the word of the ANBU agents, all of them would. It had not gone unnoticed, either. The civilian populace was well aware of the tension and seemed to side with the ANBU for the most part, straining the Yamanaka clan's ties to the village in a manner eerily reminiscent of the events leading up to the Uchiha Massacre. Hiruzen would have to see if Itachi's black ops team was behind this. He wouldn't be surprised if they were directing it in such a way.

Then again, it could be Naruto himself behind the similarities. Hiruzen shuddered at the thought. He knew Naruto was extremely capable, but the idea that he might be directing and maneuvering Hiruzen's forces in such a way that recreated the events of one of Konoha's great tragedies and risked letting the secret out was not a pleasant one. In fact, it was downright fucking terrifying.

That was just his ANBU, too. It said absolutely about what the wolves had been doing. It started rather harmlessly with members going missing for a few days before showing up again, completely unharmed. It had done little to disrupt their lives, but it had left all clanmembers rather paranoid and wondering if the next person to be taken would return injured, if they returned at all.

It was rather fortunate that Inoichi had explained everything to him, otherwise he may have become worried about such an outcome. But just because Naruto had given his word that things would be kept non-lethal didn't mean he couldn't cause some major damage.

The clan treasury, for example, had been completely emptied.

No one was sure how the Wolves had managed it, but they not only managed to take everything without being seen, but rotting boar carcasses had been dumped into the cleared vault and painted in red was a snarling wolf on the outside of the treasury door. Had it not been for that picture and the rather copious amounts of blood the wolves had poured over the boars seeping through under the door, the Yamanaka would likely have never known.

As it was, the village as a whole still didn't. In fact, most of the things the wolves did to the Yamanaka clan went unknown. The Mindwalkers were not about to admit what was happening to them and show weakness. Shinobi found it difficult to resist vulnerability. Ally or not, they would take advantage of you for as long as they possibly could.

And, were anyone to learn that the Yamanaka clan was currently fighting and loosing against a civilian child, child of Kushina or no, their reputation would be crushed. They were having trouble enough getting missions as it was and now had no treasury to fall back on. Were they to lose the few missions they managed to obtain they would have absolutely no income and the clan would become destitute. It was already well on its way and the fact that it was being run by a ten year-old girl wasn't helping.

Inoichi had mentioned it being part of his deal with Naruto, who may or may not have been in league with the Wolves, that she would lead the clan so that all his quarrel could be with her through the Yamanaka. There was something else about being a life lesson, but Hiruzen had been too occupied at the time by the fact that a ten year-old was in charge of one of Konoha's prominent clans to pay much attention after that.

But aside from those events and the occasional sabotaged utility, there was only one last event worth note known as the Renji rape. Rather ingeniously, the wolves abducted several women, knocked them out, stripped them nude and left them chained up within the basement of one Yamanaka Renji. They were found three days later after an anonymous tip was given to the ANBU. Naturally the women had no recollection of him doing anything to them or even of meeting him, but that was the beauty of it. Because the Yamanaka were so well known for the mind arts, it was easy for people to believe that their memories had just been altered. Because it was a Yamanaka in question, they couldn't have anything checked or, rather, could not believe anything any of the Mindwalkers claimed.

This event had not managed to stay within the clan, not when the women were Konoha civilians and the Yamanaka no longer had the funds to buy their silence on the matter. The only reason Hiruzen knew what had happened was because Yamanaka Ino, the clan heiress, had found a box in her room containing the undergarments of the women along with a rather detailed painting of a pack of wolves beneath the moon, each one glaring at the observer with wrathful red eyes.

Of course, that also helped but Hiruzen's mind at ease. While there was no definite proof, Renji had not raped the women and the wolves seemed to have no interest in such acts, more concerned with ruining what remained of the Yamanaka clan. And while Ino, Inoichi, and Hiruzen himself knew the truth, no one else would believe them. Even the Yamanaka clan believed Renji had done it and blamed him for the great loss of reputation that had befallen them.

The Nara and Akimichi who had thus far been aiding the Yamanaka as discreetly as possibly as to avoid becoming targets had promptly withdrawn support after that incident. There was no way they could let themselves be associated with such a thing. And so the Yamanaka were left with nothing and no one. There was only one way direction for them to go now, and that direction was, unfortunately, downwards. There was no way for things to improve at the moment which meant things would just get worse until they could no longer call themselves a Shinobi clan.

He had to wonder if that had been the plan all along or just a pleasant bonus for the Wolves.

If Naruto truly was involved, he suspected it had indeed been planned. And to think, this all may have been avoided if Hiruzen hadn't been so hasty when it came to retrieving the information he believed Naruto was in possession of. He had been in possession in some rather dangerous secrets, but it was not what they were looking for and Inoichi couldn't even properly make out the true extent of Naruto's classified knowledge.

It was for that reason that he blamed himself for this entire mess. They gained nothing from his actions and succeeded only in pushing Naruto away. He had been fostering a pretty good relationship with the boy before the event and now all of it was lost. No, not lost, just relocated. To Danzou.

The Sandaime Hokage still couldn't believe he had managed to drive the boy to Danzou of all people. There were various outcomes that played through his mind resulting from this development, most of them bad, but there were some possibilities that would be good for the boy. He'd have to simply sit back and let Naruto make his own decisions, any attempt at interfering in the boy's life at this point could produce absolutely horrid results.

And it was because of that, and partly out of guilt, that he had not attempted to end the war between the young man and the Yamanaka clan. It was mostly his fault that things came to this, that Naruto was pushed into this situation, who was he to try to step in when Naruto was handling it so well?

The Yamanaka would be a rather substantial loss, and one very soon after the loss of the Uchiha, but it, like the Uchiha Massacre, was necessary. He would surrender the clan like a sacrificial lamb in hopes that the wolf might eat it and move on, its hunger sated.

He just prayed that Naruto moved on to someone else's pastures and didn't turn his hungry gaze to the flocks of Konoha.

Most of them wouldn't stand a chance.

* * *

Danzou was waiting in the usual spot. Slipping into the seat across from him, Naruto was glad for this break from his work. It had been a year now and things were coming together nicely. It wouldn't be too long now before he could truly allow his pack into the world with confidence.

Unfortunately, the last of the work was a lot more strenuous than the work he had done getting everything set up. It was to be expected, though. He was organizing everything so that it would not require his attention often. The plan was to let Mai manage everything as Sai led the pack itself. The two were used to working with each other and had become used to working with him, they'd do well leading the pack while he was occupied with starting his Shinobi career.

"It's been a while, Naruto. Been busy?"

"I have." He answered with a nod. "Is retirement still treating you well?"

"You should know that I'm not really that retired."

Naruto pretended to be confused, despite knowing the old man across from him was an expert at reading people.

"Oh, do you mean because you serve as an advisor on the honorable council? Yes, I suppose that would be a lot of work and take away from the feeling of retirement."

"That's not what I was referring to."

"Isn't it? Whatever could it be that you speak of?"

"I know you've been in contact with them, their sudden change in movement told me something had happened. It was no hard to figure out it had to do with you. I don't know how you managed to convince them, but I do find myself rather impressed."

"I'm afraid I cannot take credit for something I don't know of."

"Do not think you can fool me, Naruto. You know very well what it is I speak of. After all, you have spent the past year turning them from a loose collection of soldiers into a professional organization. You may have used already prepared Shinobi, but it's still remarkable that someone as young as you managed such a feat. Not everyone has what it takes."

"Still a bit lost here. Who?"

Danzou's lips turned down into a deep frown. With the slightest of movements two figures dashed from behind the trees towards the former Uzumaki. Unlike the wolves he had expected to meet his men in defense of their leader two black chains intercepted them. Naruto wasted no time in executing them and within seconds his chains had wrapped around the men's necks and snapped them with violent jerks.

Danzou's frown increased in size. He had thought that the Wolves would have defended their leader instantly. Perhaps they knew how capable their lord was and deemed it unnecessary to guard him. It was a rather bold move, but it also ensured that they would not be caught and that anyone who met with him would immediately feel like they had the upper hand. The false security they felt would likely become the undoing of many men in the future. It was not wise to underestimate Naruto.

Much to Danzou's pleasant surprise, he felt a blade to his neck. Seeing as Naruto was still seated before him and, to the best of his knowledge, did not know any solid clone techniques, Danzou let his gaze move to the side. The snarling face of a wolf was next to his own, the person behind it paying very little attention to his 'captive' as they gazed towards their leader.

Moving his eyes back to Naruto, he lifted a single brow.

"So you still don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Absolutely not, that's just a pet. Surely you know a wolf when you see one."

Danzou gave a snort. "Yes, of course. Now, call of your mutt before I teach it the hierarchy."

The wolf-faced Shinobi growled in response but released his captive at Naruto's nod.

"Take care of the bodies and return to the den, I can take it from here." The wolf gave a nod and left with the bodies to obey.

"You know, I had left them as civilians for a reason."

"I'm well aware, but I also know you did that because you didn't have any use for them. I, on the other hand, did. Either way, their training gets put to good use, no?"

"Are you trying to say terrorizing the Yamanaka is a good use of the soldiers I poured valuable time and recourses into?"

"I'm not, but I won't deny that it's one of my uses for them."

"Quite. I've attempted to influence things outside of Konoha recently only to run into members of your pack that seemed quite lost. I'm not sure how they managed to become so separated."

"Damn, and here I was hoping to keep that a secret for a bit longer."

"It isn't often that plans work perfectly, Naruto. You should know that."

Naruto snorted in amusement. "The perfect plan was to never be known, I was just trying to get a firm grounding within a few minor countries before it was discovered that I intend to play on a global scale."

"A wise choice, but one that really doesn't matter now."

"Indeed, I'll just have to make due. I'm sure I can abandon a project or two to finish some of the others as soon as possible. I'll take the hit, but at least I'll be better prepared for any others that might come afterwards."

"Hm. Tell me Naruto, how does your pack fit into Konoha?"

"By prowling within the shade of the Great Tree, of course."

"And yet you have members of your pack far from the tree."

Shrugging, Naruto gave a grin.

"What can I say? From time to time we like to lie in the sun."

"The sun is no place for men like us." The disapproval within his voice was obvious. He had expected a better response from the boy.

"There are times when one must seek out prey; we find the sunlight to be most bountiful."

"And with that bounty, what will you do?"

A hardened seriousness came into Naruto's gaze as he stared into the older man's single eye.

"I will feed my pack."

"You will never be able to devour it all."

Venom spilled forth from his tongue, dripping to the floor like acid as he spat in defiance;

" _ **Watch us**_."

* * *

The looks she received as she walked down the streets of Konoha's seedier district caused her to withdraw into her fluffy jacket. Men, drunk despite the early hour, jeered at her while the many soiled doves who could always be found sent her disapproving looks and scoffing sneers.

Looking down to the paper clutched tightly in her delicate hands, she once more reviewed the address. Normally she wouldn't be anywhere near this part of the village, but Naruto had instructed her to come here and she didn't like the thought of disappointing him.

She really liked Naruto, not in the sense of a crush, but more as her friend or maybe even brother. He had helped her when her family had branded her as a branch member and continued to look after her afterwards. He was the first person she could think of as a friend and she had to wonder if he was what Neji would have been if he didn't hate her.

Shaking her head at the thought, she glanced around to find her destination. Double checking with the paper in her hand, she headed towards the small, one-story building that looked rather out of place. With buildings three times its size flanking it and the walls painted a dark red it was hard not to take notice of it. There were no markings on the outside and no windows to peer into but the addresses of the buildings it sat between let her know this was the right place.

Moving towards the black double doors, she was aware of the leer of drunken men turning into an almost shocked horror as she drew near it. Sneers and scowls sent to her by women of pleasure vanished as they tried to retreat out of sight. The two doors opened and she made note of the wolf-masked shinobi standing before each one. Though their faces were hidden, she got the feeling that the snarling wolves were glaring at everybody in the street, almost if daring them to try something.

A young woman, perhaps fifteen years of age, came through the door next. Her skin was pale, exceedingly so, and long dark hair fell strait down her back in a long rectangle. Bangs on either side of a dispassionately frowning face went past her breasts to rest near her naval. While there were manyu who would be of the opinion that Hinata was more attractive, or would become more attractive than the girl when she reached the same age, the young girl couldn't help but be intimidated by the young woman.

That was put to rest when she bowed low in greeting.

"Welcome, Hinata-Sama. Our lord has been waiting."

Hinata was, admittedly, a little confused. She was aware that Naruto had allies within the village but never had he mentioned a lord of any sort. Was this how he had gotten the support he had, by befriending a lord?

"Please, if you would follow me." Hinata only hesitated for a second before following after the woman. If Naruto thought she should be here than she would trust him. As she fell into step behind the woman she could hear the doors shutting behind her and the two men take their positions ready for the next person who would attempt entrance.

Swallowing down her fear, she continued behind the young woman and was surprised when walking through a second door brought them to a room that contained only a large staircase. There were torches in each corner of the room and under those the face of a wolf. It took her a moment to realize that there were people below the masks, their bodies hidden in the blackness the dim torches could not penetrate.

Something warm and soft entwined with her fingers and the woman sent her a small smile. "Can't have you getting lost now, can we?" And with that Hinata was lead down the stairs and into the darkness.

She didn't know how long they walked or how many turns they had ended up taking and Hinata understood why the woman had deemed it necessary to hold her hand. Though, necessary or not, Hinata was unused to such physical contact and having the pretty young woman intertwining their fingers together had left her with a rather bright blush.

"Come on, we're almost there."

"Y-yeah." Hinata gave a timid nod and an "eep" of surprise when the woman pinched her blushing cheek.

"Well aren't you just the most adorable thing? No wonder he's taken you under his protection." She must have been talking about Naruto there and briefly Hinata wondered if Naruto thought she was adorable too.

"It's probably a good thing I'm escorting you, too. The Wolves would probably devour such a timid little lamb."

"R-really?"

"Oh, yeah. In fact, I'm thinking about it myself." Hinata blushed even brighter, causing the woman to giggle. "I think the two of us will get along well enough, Hinata-Sama. If you're ever feeling a bit lonely feel free to come find me."

"O-okay." The ex-heiress's face had gone completely red, much to the young woman's amusement. That look of amusement, however, was wiped off her face the instant they stopped before a large steel door flanked by four guards. Upon seeing her one of them entered the room while the other three saluted first to the woman and then proceeded to bow to Hinata, much to her confusion. When a loud knocking from the other side of the door was heard two of the guards stepped further away while the final one held the door for the two women, permitting them entry.

Entering, the last guard followed them in, shutting the door and taking his place beside it much like the first had done on the other side.

It was a familiar face, surrounded by stacks of paperwork, that greeted her.

"Naruto-Kun?"

The young man looked up from his work and shot her a smile.

"Good morning, Hinata. How have things been?"

For a second she liked to imagine that he had actually asked about her personal life, something that filled her heart with warmth, but she knew the reality was he wanted to know about the going-ons of the Hyuuga clan. She really couldn't blame him. Not only had he defied them by ruining the seal on her brow but he had risked their ire a year ago when he declared her under his protection and publically placed himself against the Yamanaka.

Thus far the Hyuuga had yet to do anything, which was usually a good sign. If they had a problem you would hear about it. Perhaps because it involved Hinata who was not just a branch member but one whom they had been unable to properly brand they didn't care or even hoped that something would happen to her due to the conflict. She really couldn't say for sure.

"They've been well. Are you doing okay?"

"The wolves and I have been doing wondrously, thank you. It's because of that I wanted you to come here. Seeing as we've finally managed to set ourselves up I wanted to meet them. You're under my protection, these are the people who will be insuring it."

"I don't think I understand."

"These are my Wolves, my guard, my shinobi, my own personal army." Hinata's wonder had obviously been noticed as he paused. She had obviously not expected him to have his own army and not many would.

"I'm giving you some of them."

"What? Why?" One of the guards gave a low growl at the fact that Naruto was being questioned but the redhead just smiled.

"As your own personal guard, of course. I promised you were under my protection and while you haven't been given any trouble by the Yamanaka yet and your clan still hasn't figured out what to do about your seal I would rather be safe than sorry."

With a snap of his fingers four masked individuals appeared. Each one was dressed in the dark grey uniform she had seen all the others wearing and bore the same snarling masks. But there was one difference that set them apart, a single green 'X' proudly displayed above the mask's brow. It reminded her of the cage bird seal and she knew that was probably the idea behind it.

"Come," Naruto stood, "Let me introduce you to your protectors."

Hinata had a feeling that things in her life were about to change-

And not in a bad way.

* * *

Had it really been almost four years already? She would ask where the time had gone, but she knew very well that it had disappeared into the countless bottles than no littered the Senju compound. Shizune had valiantly attempted to keep the grounds clean and her sober but it had all been for naught. Though she had, admittedly, kept the main house almost completely alcohol free.

Tsunade had stopped drinking there two weeks after they had moved to Konoha and moved her activities to the many guest houses and the gardens instead. Things had felt pretty slow as she lounged in the sun with her drink of choice, nowhere near as fast and hectic as her decade long gambling spree that had flown by in an instant, but they had still gone far more quickly than she had realized. It felt like only months ago that she had stepped back into Konoha and yet it had not been just a year or even two, but rather very close to four full years.

There were few in the world capable of keeping themselves drunk for outrageous amounts of time, especially if they planned on staying alive in this violent world, but Tsunade was, much to her own shame, one of them.

And now four years had been drunk away.

Guilt briefly flashed in her heart. There was no doubt in her mind that Kushina had been anxiously awaiting word on the wellbeing of her son and Tsunade hadn't even found the boy yet. Not that she had actually been searching, more concerned with studying the bottom of her bottles than locating the son of a famous shinobi within Konoha of all places. Who here would hurt him? The worst that could have happened was him being homeless for a few weeks before someone took him in.

There was Kurenai, too. Tsunade knew for a fact that the woman had been looking for the boy. He hadn't been brought here as far as she knew, so the chances of Kurenai having found him were pretty slim unless she had managed to get over whatever problems she had, but that was fine. Just because Kurenai hadn't found him didn't mean someone else hadn't. Hiruzen had admitted to knowing where the boy was living, though he refused to say in an attempt to respect the boy's privacy which was absolute bullshit.

Tsunade was his godmother, why wouldn't he just tell her where the brat lived so that she could take a look at his chakra coils and be done with it?

It really didn't matter at this point, though, did it? Even if there was something wrong he'd be starting to go through Chakra Maturity at this point. If the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra truly had been harmful then it was good that Kushina had left with Naruko and it would be safe for them to return on schedule. If it hadn't, well, she really wouldn't be able to tell at this point.

Nothing seemed to come up concerning him and his health either, as Hiruzen hadn't sent for her. If there had been a problem then she knew he'd want her, the world's greatest medic, to take care of it. So, for all she really knew, he was perfectly okay, now the only problem was finding some way to explain the fact that she had sent not one single letter to the worrying mother.

'It must have gotten lost' could only work so many times and she really couldn't use it to explain four years without updates on Naruto's health. If she told the woman that Naruto's network was fine and exposure to the Kyuubi's chakra would cause no damage then Kushina would be furious that she had not been notified earlier so that she could return. On the other hand, she had no real way to tell her that she had been right and had made the correct decision in separating herself from him and yet she had not told her that. It would have no doubt helped Kushina a lot to know that she had done the right thing and yet she had heard no word either way.

There really was no winning for Tsunade at this point. No matter what she said, the fact remained that she had kept the worried mother in the dark for all these years. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But she wasn't just a woman, no, Kushina was a mother, an Uzumaki mother, and one that she, Tsunade, had kept from her child.

Maybe it was time for her to return to gambling her way across the elemental nations. It could buy her a few months at the very least, long enough to drop Shizune somewhere she'd be safe and find herself a nice little town to be buried in. Kushina would be out for blood.

Then again, would the woman leave her son again so soon after returning? She doubted it, and chances of him leaving when he was about to graduate the academy were slim, so he couldn't join his mother in her hunt. She might survive a bit longer then, maybe even escape the Uzumaki woman's rage completely.

She scoffed at her own thought, there was no escaping an Uzumaki's wrath, it just didn't happen.

And unfortunately, this was not a problem her beloved Sake could fix.

Well, not that she had any left. The stores of the Senju clan was vast but she had managed to completely empty them of everything alcoholic by herself in a mere four years. Had she not been the greatest medic in the world her liver would have failed ten times over.

"Oh, master, was there something you needed?" Tsunade hadn't even heard Shizune enter the house, how long had she been home?

"No, just thinking." Shizune sent her master a curious look but otherwise left it at that. It was odd for Tsunade to be in the kitchen seeing as she usually spent her time drinking in one of the guest houses. Actually, it was odd to simply see Tsunade not drinking, especially at this time of day. She should be at least a dozen and a half bottles in by now, and that was on slow days.

"Hey, Shizune." The silence was broken by Tsunade's voice as her apprentice looked up from her search of the fridge.

"Yes, Tsunade-Sama?"

"Have you heard anything about Naruto recently?" Unseen to her, Shizune frowned.

"You know, if you told me why you're looking for him I would know what things to listen for. You still haven't even told me why we came back to Konoha."

Tsunade paused for a moment, contemplating it, before giving a sigh.

"We moved here for him." She admitted. Her apprentice sent her an incredulous look.

"We moved here for him? What on earth does that mean?"

"I-I know his mother, she asked me to come keep an eye on his health while she was away."

"An eye on his health? She asked you, the greatest medic to ever live, to look after his health just because she knew you? Surely any trained medic would have worked. There aren't a lot of combat medics, but Konoha has plenty trained to work in the hospital." Shizune knew there was more to the story and Tsunade, realizing this, gave another resigned sigh.

"I'm the boy's godmother." Slowly, Shizune closed the fridge and went to the tale her master sat at.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Her voice was soft but carried a noticeable edge.

"Not unless Kushina told him."

"And you decided not to go looking for him? All he knows about you is that you're one of the Sannin, you don't mean to tell me you expected him to come to you, do you? Is he even aware that his mother is concerned for his health for whatever reason? Does he have a reason to seek you out?"

"I've looked and one of his mother's students is keeping an eye out. She was going to send him to live here at the compound if she managed to find him. Neither of us have been able to locate him yet, despite our best efforts." Tsunade looked up in confusion when Shizune scoffed at her.

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it. I saw him just last month at Ichiraku Ramen and the month before that at a Shinobi store buying Kunai. He's not that hard to find unless he's trying to hide from you."

"Wait, you saw him and didn't tell me?!"

Shizune scoffed at her again.

"Tell you what, that I ran into Naruto again, had a friendly chat, and continued on with my day?"

"Why didn't you bring him here? You know I've been looking for him."

"No, I know you've been waiting for him to show up while you spend your days getting drunk off your ass. What did you expect me to tell him? 'Come back to the Senju compound and meet Tsunade, I don't know why but she's been looking for you' isn't something you'd tell someone."

"That would have worked perfectly well, he doesn't need to know why I'm looking for him, I'm Senju Tsunade for fuck's sake. Just a chance to see my breasts should have had him coming back with you!"

"You really don't think highly of him do you, Tsunade-Sama?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I told him you were looking for him. When I couldn't tell him why he scoffed at me. A legendary Kunoichi wanting to meet you for reasons unknown is beyond suspicious and only a fool would accept it at face value."

"He's eleven! He should have been jumping for a chance to meet me!"

"He was eight when I met him, and that was when he was just the _Little Thief_ and not at war with the Yamanaka."

"He's _**what?!**_ _"_

Shizune lifted a single eyebrow. "Have you left the compound within the past two years, Tsunade-Sama? He ended up declaring himself their enemy not too long after his tenth birthday. Renounced his Uzumaki name from what I hear, too."

"I don't believe this, how could it have happened?"

"The details are pretty fuzzy," Shrugged Shizune, "Surrounded by a lot of rumor and speculation. If you really want to know you'd have to ask Naruto himself."

"You know I can't find him."

"That's because you're not really looking." With that Shizune left the room.

She was right and Tsunade knew it. The Sannin had never wanted to find Naruto, perfectly content to let things sort themselves out. At first, she had wanted to avoid the boy who had just lost his mother. He'd have been confused, hurt, and emotional and she didn't want to deal with that or have him start thinking of her as a mother figure. As time went on she realized that it would have been easier then and explaining everything, including her absence up to that point, would be far more difficult for her to do.

The explanation was put off for the next day, and then the next, and then for weeks after that. As more and more time passed she knew it was less and less likely for him to accept any explanation she came up with. What a way that would have been for him to meet his godmother.

But now, having put it off for four years, she had probably lost all rights to call herself such.

And for reasons she could not explain, the loss of the godson she had never met hurt her just as much as every other loss she had ever suffered.

Perhaps being in his life would have helped her close the wounds of her past, the wounds she drank to forget. Maybe, just maybe, she could have found in her godson another reason to keep on living, one to give her life purpose after Shizune left her to start her own life.

Senju Tsunade would never know, and that doubt would haunt her for the rest of her life.

* * *

There was both excitement and hesitation with every step she took, each one bringing her closer to her village, her home-

Her son.

It had been four years now; four years, one month, six days, and ten hours since she had last seen her son. Next to her Naruko was practically dancing in excitement as they made their way closer to the village hidden in the leaves.

But each step Kushina took was slower than the last. She was happy to be coming back, to be able to see her son again after all this time, but she was worried. She had left a note explaining everything within the compound but Naruto wasn't able to access it. Hiruzen knew of her reasons or at least had a good understanding of them, but had Naruto been told by the old Kage?

The Sarutobi head had voiced his disagreement with her plans many times before she had left and she knew that his refusal to write any letters after the first was because his suggestion was the same.

'Come home.'

But she hadn't, couldn't. He should have known that. Then again, he wasn't the professor for nothing, perhaps he felt it better to risk exposing Naruto to more of the Kyuubi's chakra as she sorted everything out then to rely on what little of her plan remained.

Of course, one also had to realize that leaving behind her baby boy was the hardest thing she had ever done. If she had returned she knew she wouldn't have been able to leave again. She couldn't do that, couldn't risk damaging Naruto's coils with the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra and taking away his chances of ever being a Shinobi.

He had always wanted to be a Shinobi so he'd be able to protect her and his sister. She couldn't take that away from him. She just had to hope that he would understand why she had to leave and why she couldn't come back to take care of him. Naruko's training had gone well, and that meant she didn't have to worry about anything concerning her daughter. It also left her a lot of time for Naruto. In fact, it left all her time for Naruto.

She would make sure that Naruto had all the training he wanted and then some. Every second she had available would be devoted into making Naruto the Shinobi he wanted to be and making up for all the time she had spent away from him. The first thing she was going to do when she saw him was sweep him into a big hug and cover his face with kisses. She'd make sure he knew exactly how much she loved her baby boy and that she was never going to be leaving him like that again.

"Come on, Kaa-Chan, faster! I want to see Nii-Kun!" Naruko was just as excited as she was, if not more so, and had no worries making her hesitate. She hadn't been the one to leave Naruto, Kushina was. Naruko was simply taken with her.

It had been difficult at first for the girl to be separated from her brother. The two were often close by, Naruto keeping an eye on her to make sure she was safe, and to be so far away from him and know it was going to be years until she next saw him was hard on her. It had taken a little encouragement and a few mentions about how proud her brother would be, but once Naruko started training her skills grew by leaps and bounds.

Most curiously, however, it had been her ability to call upon the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and keep it under control that had gone by the fastest. It was almost as if the Kyuubi wasn't just letting her take the chakra, but was actively helping her control it, which was a ridiculous thought. Then again, Kushina knew little about the seal her husband had used all those years ago, few did. The Shiki Fuin was not something used often and as a result not much information was available. Perhaps it was the seal that allowed her daughter such control over the volatile energy that made up the strongest Biju.

Whatever the reason, Kushina was just glad to know her daughter was able to call upon such power should anything ever happen to her. Few could go against Jinchuriki, even fewer against one who could call upon large quantities of a Biju's chakra and retain their mind. It was not a power intended to be wielded by humans and the results were devastating.

Smiling, Kushina looked down at her daughter.

"Faster you say? I don't think you can handle faster." Naruko pouted.

"I can too, I bet I could get their faster than you."

"That sounds like a challenge." Stated Kushina as she raised a single brow.

"Heh, you're on!"

"A race it is, then. On the count of three. One, two, thr-" Before she could even finish counting her daughter had started running as quickly as she could towards the village they called home.

Home, where her family would be whole once more. Her heart leapt in joy at the thought. They were the Uzumaki and there was nothing more important to them than family.

Chasing after her daughter, Kushina let her thoughts drift to thoughts of her son's smiling face and sparkling purple eyes.

She couldn't wait to hold him again.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing you all in my theater again next week for act XVI. And, if it's not too much trouble, please stop switching seats. It's already hard enough to keep track of you all.**


	16. An Empty Home

**Here we are, Act XVI. I'm sure you've all been waiting anxiously for this one but, well, you'll see.**

 **By now most of you should be familiar with the way I do chapters. Standard are 5k and every fifth is a 10k special. Today fits into neither of those categories, as I have here for your reading pleasure a 7.5k chapter. I could have stopped at the 5k mark, but I felt as though you all deserved a...better ending...to this act.**

 **Kukukukukuku**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for both his help with the plot and the last dialogue line. I liked it so much I had to include it.**

 **A couple of you buggers are planning on switching seats randomly or swinging from the balcony curtains- yes, I'm looking at you- but I warn you now if you disrupt my show or my audience I'm kicking you out.** **ImWiredSoWat, thank you for the heads up about your move to seat S12.**

 **I've had people mention that Tsunade isn't Naruto's godmother a few times and always have to keep myself from banging my head against something hard. Exactly how well does my story fit with cannon at the moment? How many things have I changed? If I call Tsunade his godmother then it means I have decided to make her his godmother. It's no different from making Orochimaru his godfather, as I'm damn sure that's not cannon.**

 **Not much more to say now, so enjoy the show.**

* * *

Unease grew with every step but she pushed forward regardless. She could hear whispers grow by the second, eyes on either side of the street locking onto her figure and tracking her movement as she made her way to the home she had not set foot in for four long years. It was a curious thing, this attention, and it immediately raised red flags within her mind.

She had visited every major country and a handful of the minor ones without creating a tenth of the stir as her return to Konoha had. Hidden villages, both those who knew who she was and those who did not paid her little mind as she went about her business. Or, at the very least, they had not been so public about any mind paid.

Was it because so many people here knew of her? Did they, perhaps, not expect her to return? Just the thought of not coming back for her son sickened her, surely they hadn't assumed that she had meant to leave him here and live out the rest of her years outside the great walls of Konoha.

Unfortunately, she couldn't say she'd be surprised if they had.

There were few who had known of her plans to leave at all and only two that had any idea as to why. It was, admittedly, far too easy to come to such an unsavory conclusion. Such thoughts did little to ease her troubled heart.

Doing her best to ignore those around her and the way they shied away from meeting her gaze, she was only slightly aware of her quickening of pace and her daughter struggling to keep up with the swift strides of her long legs. As the sea of flesh that filed up Konoha's main market district dwindled into the far more manageable light traffic of the hidden village's more residential areas she found herself growing more and more anxious.

She knew he wouldn't be there when she returned, waiting for her with a smile on his face and arms opened wide to hug her tightly, but some traitorous hope resided deep within her heart, praying to whatever gods might heed its call that he had found some way to gain entry to their home and had spent the last four years living comfortably as he attended the academy.

That same part of her, that foolishly optimistic dreamer, pushed her to come here before going anywhere else. If for no other reason than to drop of their things before seeking out her son she had listened to it, silently offering her own prayer that that side of her might be right. She knew it wouldn't be.

Clan compounds past her like leaves on the wind. Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka. In no time she found herself before the white walls of the Uzumaki compound. Despite hearing that Naruto had been rather violently rejected by the compound's security measures, there were no signs of anything having happened. She knew it could easily be attributed to time- four years- and whomever had recovered her son after the accident, but that small part of her proudly declared that it had never happened and Naruto only had to experience the warning. She might let herself believe that part of her if it didn't also insist that he had found some way inside.

Pressing a slightly trembling hand to the gate, she felt the familiar warmth of the seals as they responded positively to her touch. With a slight click, the bronze double doors swung open just enough to prevent the doors from locking before she could make her way inside. A light push was all the force necessary for one of the doors to swing open far enough for she and her daughter to walk in without trouble.

The door had moved silently, as if it hadn't been unused for the past few years, but she didn't let that get her hopes up. As long as she had lived in Konoha, not once had these doors been oiled. They were simply crafted so masterfully that they required no maintenance. Time had long forgotten who had made the doors that decorated the outside of the compound but she knew it hadn't been here ancestors. Perhaps it had been a gift from a group long since forgotten using techniques that would never again be known. There was no way to know.

Closing the doors behind them, Kushina swiftly cut across the yard with quick strides. The grass came up to her naval which left Naruko's head to just barely keep above it. Covering the distance to the door in a matter of seconds, she froze momentarily on the threshold of her home. Did she dare confirm what she knew? Could she face what would be within, the lifeless emptiness that lay in wait?

She took a deep breath and a quick look at her impatient daughter before turning the doorknob. But even though she had opened the plain brown door, her body would not move any further. It was only after an ungentle shove from Naruko and a graceless stumbling step that she actually found herself within the house she had always thought of as home.

Aside from a light coating of dust, nothing was on the floor. Shelves and bookcases filled with pictures and curios remained exactly the way they had been years ago, completely untouched in her absence. There was none of the warmth she usually associated with the house present, replaced instead by a cold, indifferent building that couldn't care less about the troubles of the family it housed.

Moving to the kitchen, she found the note she had written oh so long ago just where she had left it. Unopened, it mocked her from atop the dark wooden table. For a moment she wanted to blame things upon the innocent paper but she knew that in the end it all fell down to her shoulders.

She would have, however, felt better had she left the letter with someone so that even after the compound rejected him he would know what was going on.

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

Leaving the kitchen she headed towards her own room, absently noting that the dishes from the last meal the three had as a family were still sitting in the sink unwashed. After four years, it might just be better to throw them out.

Slipping through silent hallways, she found her rom as neat and orderly as the day she left it. Anyone who knew her would be surprised until they realized the only reason it was clean was because she had taken all her things with her on the trip.

Removing her scroll from her pouch, she tossed it on the bed, wondering if she should take the time to unpack now or wait until after she had located her son's whereabouts. She could always spend the day getting resituated into her home and then look for him in the morning. It would be easy, she knew, to put it off, and she would also be able to visit the academy in search for him. They had about a week left so the chances of him being there were high.

But she couldn't do that, not after leaving him as she had. She needed to find him, to make sure he was okay and explain everything that her letter had not had the chance to. But there was still that desire to hesitate, to push it off until later. It would be difficult to face him after not just a massive mistake on her part, but for leaving without warning and breaking up that held most sacred by the Uzumaki.

She knew it must have hurt him for her to have left without goodbye, but she also knew a goodbye would have hurt just as much, if not more, and she doubted she would have been able to go on with the trip if she had been forced to leave her crying son behind. He would not have let her go without a fight, of that she was certain, and he would have had to be held back at her departure to keep him from chasing after her. Even that, however, wouldn't have done much. He would have chased after her the first chance he got, even if it was months later, and he would never have found her.

It was that fear that he might have tired following her and all the horrid fates that may have befallen him in such a quest that had given her the strength to disappear. He would have been tempted to try even if he didn't see her leave, but she knew her son well enough to know that he was unlikely to go through with it. Seeing someone go, knowing they were departing, made the trip seem easy. Finding out they had disappeared without a trace would have made him hesitate, would have made him think, and with his judgement not so clouded by emotion he would have been able to see the foolishness of chasing after them.

It should have bought her long enough for him to read her letter before his Uzumaki rashness kicked in and overrode his common sense. The letter, in turn, should have sent him to Kurenai, which would have ensured he not run off and that he knew there were people to help him while his mother was gone.

Her plan had worked, but only in half the sense it should have. He had indeed stayed within Konoha, from what she knew, but he had not read her letter or gone to Kurenai. Or, rather, she had heard nothing from her former student about Naruto staying with her. Though, that was to say very little, as there had been almost no communication between the two women over the past four years.

She did, however, receive notice that Naruto had recovered after the compound rejected him and was seen often around Konoha. Kurenai had never said more than that. No news could have been a good thing meaning nothing had gone wrong, but it could also be news bad enough for her not to be the bearer of.

She would find out soon enough.

Deciding to unpack later, she ventured forth to her daughter's room only to let out a soft giggle of amusement at the mess she found. Not bothering to unpack in an orderly fashion, Naruko had simply activated every seal at once and allowed her things to spew forth. Kushina watched as Naruko half-heartedly sorted things which was, for the most part, just her chucking things into her open closet.

"Naruko, dear, leave it be for now. Let's go find your brother first."

At the mention of her brother Naruko was immediately standing upright and making her way over, ready to go.

"Alright! Let's go see Naruto-Nii!" She delated almost as soon as she had said that. "Erm, Kaa-san, where do we find Naruto-Nii?"

That was a good question, a very good question. Did they visit Kurenai to find out what she knew? Perhaps he was staying with Tsunade and her apprentice at the Senju compound, living life like a prince. Kakashi could have taken him in, or maybe even Teuchi. She may have wondered about Mikoto, but word of the Uchiha massacre had traveled fast. There were rumors of survivors but she didn't put much stock into them. As the wife of the clan head and mother of the traitorous Itachi who had gone mad and slaughtered his family, her best friend was most certainly deceased.

Hiruzen knew about most of the happenings in Konoha, so visiting him couldn't be a bad idea but he was rather busy and at the same time a visit to the academy could let her know where her son was staying and how he had been doing at school while she was gone.

So what was the best way to proceed, what was the best option?

"I don't know, my little sunflower, but we'll find him, I promise."

And most importantly-

Where was her son?

* * *

The creak of the wood was barely audible as it swung open to admit them. Much like the compound, nothing had changed in this office since the last time they had entered it. Unlike the compound, it remained warm and inviting, as if someone actually spent a good deal of their life within the walls. Considering the amount of time he spent working through mountains of political bullshit, it was completely understandable.

"Hiruzen."

His head, having not bothered to look away from his never-ending workload, snapped quickly upwards to confirm the identity of the speaker.

"Ah, Kushina. Finally decided to return to us, have you?" Despite the small smile he gave that may have fooled Naruko, Kushina was painfully aware of the accusation in his tone and knew that by 'us' he had really meant Naruto. Though he had the general idea as to why she needed to leave he had never approved of it. There were plenty of days in which she wished she had heeded his advice. It was unfortunate that the past was so adverse to change, else she may have had a chance to undo her mistakes.

"Yep!" Answered Naruko on behalf of her mother, beaming brightly at the aged Kage. "We just got back, Jiji!"

Hiruzen's flinch when she affectionately called him old man was not missed by Kushina. He had always been like family to the Uzumaki household which made his reaction quite odd. How many times had she herself called him Jiji? How many times before this had Naruko? Never before could she remember him flinching as if struck. She was willing to bet quite a lot that it had something to do with her son.

"That's wonderful, Naruko-chan. Did you train hard while you were away?" The young girl nodded enthusiastically, practically bouncing in place.

"I trained really hard, Jiji! Now I'm super strong!" Naruko proclaimed. "Soon I'm going to take that hat from you!"

Giving a deep laugh, he shot her an amused smile. "You go right ahead, Naruko-chan, returning to retirement sounds lovely." Turning back to Kushina he continued. "Now, was there something I could help you with or are you just here to visit an old man?"

Kushina only hesitated a moment as the words caught in her throat. Even in her head they sounded bad but to actually say them, to hear those words leave her lips? Still, she had to know, and there were few answers that came without asking.

"We were, well, we were hoping to learn the whereabouts of my son." She cringed as her voice reached her ears. Her plans would have placed him at home, but those fell apart almost instantly. Who was it then, who had looked after her son in her absence? If not her, who had it been to be there for her son when he needed someone? Kurenai would never have turned down Naruto, but her daughter's words near the beginning of the trip had her wondering if her former student and son really got along as well as she had always thought they did.

Kurenai may not have turned him down, but had Naruto even gone to her?

"Of course, of course, you wouldn't know his current living arrangements, would you?" Kushina flinched at the barb as Hiruzen shuffled through his desk looking for a scrap of blank paper. Pulling one out, he was quick to start scribbling down an address. Pausing, he looked into one of the corners.

"What was his apartment number? One-sixteen?"

"One-oh-eight, I believe." Answered a disembodied voice, no doubt a hidden ANBU guard. Hiruzen gave a nod.

"Yes, that does sound right. Thank you Monkey."

"Of course, Hokage-Sama."

Beckoning Kushina closer, he handed her the address. "He's been living here for, oh, I want to say three, maybe three and a half years now. If he's not there-" Hiruzen gave a weak shrug. "Then I really don't know where you might find him. Kakashi might know, though. As I understand it he's been checking up on the boy pretty regularly."

She was rather relieved to receive confirmation that someone had indeed been looking out for her little boy. She'd have to pay a visit to Kakashi later to thank him. Of course, she should have known that Kakashi would want to make sure Naruto was doing okay. Even if he was an ANBU captain he would have found the time for Naruto, though whether or not her son spending time with the perverted veteran Shinobi was a good thing was still undecided. Maybe she should have simply asked Kakashi to be the one to watch over Naruto officially while she was away. Originally she had been worried about impeding Kakashi's ANBU career by having him watch over her son, but perhaps things would have worked out fine.

Of course, her fear of Naruto becoming a perverted mini-Kakashi had nothing to do with her decision to choose Kurenai instead.

Nope, nothing at all.

"Thank you, Hiruzen. We'll have to have you over for dinner someday soon so we can all catch up. Now, if you'll excuse us, I need to see my son." That said, she quickly left the office, almost dragging a waving Naruko behind her in her haste.

When the door had been closed and Hiruzen was sure they were a safe distance away the professor let out a long breath. Kushina would not like what she was going to learn about her son's life over these past few years, but at least he wouldn't have to be the one to tell her about it.

He pitied the poor soul upon whose shoulders such a task would fall on.

An angry Kushina was not something he would wish upon his enemies.

* * *

When one is trying to remain in the shadows, noise can be used to your advantage. When one is instead sitting in a classroom waiting to take the first true step into the world of Shinobi that same noise is rather irritating.

All around him children chatted loudly with friends and neighbors, eager to finish the exam and earn their headbands. It was odd, he knew, to think of those the same age as himself as mere children, but compared to him that's all they were. No one here had taken a life, no one here had experienced firsthand the politics of the Shinobi world or learned one of the countless dark secrets that had been hidden away within it. They were innocent, naive, and he couldn't help but wonder if it would be better for them not to graduate.

There were exceptions, of course, there always were. Aburame Shino of the ever-logical Aburame clan no doubt had the correct mindset for this line of work. His parents and fellow clanmates had probably taught him the truth behind the glorified tales of the Shinobi world long ago and spent every day since preparing him for it.

Nara Shikamaru may have been lazy, but the heir of Konoha's shadow clan was highly intelligent. Even if he didn't have what it would take to thrive in the dangerous world he was entering he would know what it was that he was lacking and be able to make up for it through careful planning and preparation. It was not hard to see that the boy would make a solid Chuunin squad leader and Naruto honestly doubted the Nara was aspiring for anything higher. If he did, however, a command position could very easily find its way into his future.

The final exception was, without the slightest of doubts, the only Uchiha within Konohagakure no Sato and quite likely all of Hi no Kuni. That alone said quite a bit about what the boy had gone through and it took no more than a quick look at him to see that he was ready for whatever else the dark world of Shinobi might throw at him next. He had yet to figure out if Uchiha Sasuke had any closer ties to Mikoto than being in the same clan but he wasn't likely to find out anytime soon. All information regarding the nearly extinct clan had been locked away and Sasuke was not the chatty type. Convincing him to open up and speak of the clan he no longer had was just not going to happen.

He'd just have to ask Mikoto the next time he saw her.

Of course, while there were exceptions there were also those who represented the epitome of ill-prepared. There were more than a few who stood out, but only one who put even them to shame- Haruno Sakura. She was worse than many others not just because she wasn't at all ready for the world she was so soon to be thrust into, but because she honestly believed that she was prepared to face the life of a Kunoichi.

That alone was insulting to anyone in this field of work. She was a bookworm with nothing but theory and good exam scores to fall back on. She had no practical skills and no real knowledge that mattered outside of Konoha's walls. She was going to get killed, and that was the nicest way of putting it. As a Shinobi, she would just be killed out in the field, as a Kunoichi there was a rather unpleasant separation between her defeat and her death.

It was an unfortunate truth, one that she didn't have the faintest idea of. He could only offer his condolences for anyone she was teamed up with, chances of her dragging them down with her were high. Of course, should she end up on a team with him he'd be sure to straighten her out. He couldn't be working with such a liability now, could he?

The thought of liabilities made him focus his attention on someone who he would have grouped in with Sakura without a second thought. Now, however, he didn't quite know what to think about Yamanaka Ino.

One look at her could just about sum up the current state of the Yamanaka clan. Her hair, once long and well-kept was now thrown into a messy bun that did the simple job of keeping it out of a face that showed far more weariness than it did any sign of makeup. Her clothes, still purple, were crumpled as if she had pulled her outfit out from under a pile of clothes in the middle of the night with her eyes clothed. Her purple skirt had been replaced with thick purple pants and he had a sneaking suspicion that with the financial state of the Yamanaka she only owned two or three pairs of them.

From what he had heard she was doing a rather admirable job in holding together the crumbling clan of Mindwalkers considering she was only twelve and her father did little to aid her. It was still falling apart, yes, but not quite as quickly as it otherwise would have. From her disheveled appearance and the weariness that clung to her like the perfumes she had stopped wearing so long ago it was easy to see that she was giving it her all.

Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly enough. Still, she now knew far more than her old rival Sakura did about the Shinobi world and had most likely realized how weak and useless she had previously been. It was unfortunate that a child would be forced to grow up as young as she was, but this would be good for her as a Kunoichi. Of course, he had all but washed his hands of the Yamanaka clan. As it was, the populace of Konoha was making their lives difficult enough and the loss of reputation suffered meant their financial status wasn't fairing much better.

Tension would disappear in time as the Yamanaka slowly built back up their reputation and proved themselves to be the capable Shinobi clan they had once been known as. It was much like a phoenix, Naruto thought, and he was the flame. They had been burnt away, purified by fire, and now all that was left was for them to rise again from the ashes more magnificent than before. Had he not been dealing with Inoichi personally he may have doubted their ability to do so, but that man would pull them through.

As he continued to let his mind wander, still looking towards Ino, the most peculiar thought struck him.

' _She looks pretty cute exhausted.'_

* * *

The others were easily enough ignored. Their laughing and chatting didn't concern her and the occasional comment about her appearance had long since failed to affect her.

But there was one thing she couldn't ignore.

Cold purple eyes pierced strait through her from across the room, sending fearful shivers down her spine. Turning her head slightly she could see him out of the corner of her eye, watching almost lazily. It was nothing like the predator she thought of him as and yet his unfocused gaze may as well have been a murderous glare as far as she was concerned.

The others might not see it when they looked at him, but she did. She knew the power at his command, she had tasted the bitter fruit borne of standing against him. This room was filled with children and amongst them sat a great wolf, calmly running his eyes over them as if they were nothing but a flock of sheep he was raising to one day devour. To him, they were probably just as threatening as sheep might be, maybe even less so.

Things had not been easy for the Yamanaka, the wolves having done well in their mission to destroy their reputation and strip away everything that they were. Had it not been against her clan she may have admired the way they worked. As it was, her family was suffering for it or, more accurately, suffering because of her. She had brought down the wrath of the wolf without realizing that what she saw had yet to even begin shedding the clothing of a sheep.

And never in her wildest dreams had she thought the wolf might have a pack. She should have, honestly, but when he had renounced his name and declared himself an enemy to her clan she quite incorrectly assumed it was only him. In the beginning, the rest of her clan had made the same mistake. It wasn't long until they realized just how large that mistake really was.

The wolves had torn them apart without killing a single one of their members.

One might have assumed that Naruto did not have what it took to just start killing them, despite having ended the life of Yamanaka Tatsuki, but they soon came to the conclusion that he was simply not merciful enough to end it for them. No, his enemies were not killed swiftly, but rather slowly ground to dust. The Yamanaka would never forget that.

And yet, strangely enough, he seemed to have stopped. Some may have said that the wolves had stopped, but she knew the wolves were his. How could those predators belong to anyone other than the beast she sat with in this very room. His eyes were all the proof she needed, for every time she looked into them she saw the image of a snarling wolf. Those purple pools said far more than his forces' masks ever could.

But while he may have stopped, the populace of Konoha was still making things difficult. Not only could they get away with most things concerning the Yamanaka because the ANBU sided with them, but many had stopped trusting the Mindwalkers after the Renji Rape scandal. There were few jobs for the Yamanaka to take, few places that didn't try to hike up prices to take advantage of their misfortune, and no one willing to offer any help.

Naruto had truly done a beautiful job and they hadn't even been able to strike out against him.

There was no one they knew of to go after to hurt him, no compound to attack, and as far as the general populace was concerned the Wolves were made up by the Yamanaka to blame their struggles on. Her father had been right in his refusal to antagonize him, he must have seen how hard it would be for them to face a foe with no known ties within the village.

And then Ino had managed to find a tie, one just as untouchable as the elusive wolf. She was quite thankful that the Hyuuga seemed content letting Naruto teach them a lesson. Had he not declared Hinata under his protection and the Hyuuga clan were to have learned that she tried to control their ex-heiress the results would have been far worse for the Yamanaka clan.

In that sense, having Naruto break them down was probably a great mercy as while he was breaking them down he seemed to have no intention of finishing them off, leaving them to build themselves back up. If she knew anything about the future of her clan, it was that they would be siding with Naruto for the rest of the foreseeable future once they had managed to return to their former state.

As the heiress, she would personally see to it they did.

Of all the lessons she had learned from this, not crossing Naruto was certainly the most valuable.

The chatter of her peers continued, unaffected by her thoughts, even as the door opened once more. It was not Iruka who entered as she had been expecting but rather a young girl dressed all in orange, her long blonde hair in twin pigtails. It took her a moment to realize that aside from the change of color the girl was wearing the same outfit she used to.

Curiously, she watched the girl observe the room until, with growing horror, bright blue eyes spotted the wolf and seemed to brighten considerably. Surely the girl could feel the sense of danger that radiated of Naruto even as he relaxed. Oh, who was she kidding? She was one of the few who seemed to realize just how much of a threat to their continued existence he was. He could tear them apart like nothing and most of her classmates were painfully unaware.

When she made her way to the great beast, Ino knew what she had to do. With quick movements despite the toll running a clan was taking on her, she grabbed hold of the ignorant girl's shoulder when she tried to pass the Yamanaka heiress.

As the girl turned to her, Ino was momentarily stunned by the resemblance she had to the wolf sitting in the corner.

She knew of the Uzumaki but it couldn't be, could it?

The last time she tried to stop someone from visiting Naruto had ended poorly but if this girl really was an Uzumaki then the last thing they needed was for her to aggravate the wolf. All the clans knew that Uzumaki Kushina and her daughter left the village four years ago, leaving behind Naruto. Ino knew that were she in his shoes then she wouldn't be too open to the idea of them just coming up to her like nothing had happened.

Considering what happened to her clan, she was probably saving this girl's life.

The way the girl practically growled "What?" at her attempts, however, did not sound too grateful.

* * *

She walked down the unfamiliar hallways, absolutely giddy to be able to traverse the same path her brother had for the past four years. He'd be here, of that she was certain. After all, how could he miss what could very well be the single most important day of his career- the first one?

A week had come and gone since their return with no sign of her brother. The apartment was his, or so the neighbors claimed, but he wasn't home and hadn't been home on the next few days they visited. There was a young girl at one point, a few years older than herself, that exited his apartment but by the time they realized that she had been the only one within it she had vanished amongst the crowds of Konoha.

Kakashi had been little help when they asked, saying that if they couldn't find him at his apartment then he could be just about anywhere in Konoha. Apparently the perverted Jounin usually just ran into him while going about his business and didn't know where her brother might spend his time when not at home. He had, however, suggested the academy or the practice fields around it. She had a feeling he was lying about only running into her brother by chance, but they still gave his suggestion a shot.

She had no luck in the fields and her mother had no luck speaking with his teacher. From what she understood from the Uzumaki matriarch's mutterings it had something to do with not being able to disclose personal information about students. Naruko thought that odd, considering it was his mother asking.

They had sought out Kurenai, her mother's former student, but the woman, much like Kakashi, only knew of his apartment. She had mentioned something about Naruto being rather private and independent meaning she wasn't needed much before claiming she had urgent errands to run and slipping away.

It was suspicious, but Naruto had always made the Jounin uneasy so Naruko accepted that she could be telling the truth but didn't like talking about it. Strange, yes, but not really out of character for the woman she knew.

When they weren't let into the Senju compound to speak with Tsunade her mother had started to believe they were keeping her son from her, but speaking to Kato Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, revealed that he wasn't there and that Tsunade had probably locked herself in the compound after drinking too much again. Apparently it happened pretty regularly. Her mother might have been distressed enough to buy it, but Naruko had a feeling something else was going on and no one wanted to be the one to have to tell them.

It was not a pleasant feeling when it was about her brother's wellbeing.

But that would al be put to rest today. There was no way Naruto wouldn't be here today and she needed to take the test anyway. She'd find her brother, give him a great big hug, tell him all about the trip and then bring him home.

She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw her; he was going to be so happy!

Reaching the classroom in which all the hopeful graduates were, she didn't hesitate to open the door and immediately begin her search for her brother. With the chaos in the room, she brought little attention to herself. Blue eyes trailed over excited students until she found her target sitting in the back corner. His red hair was unmistakable, but she noted with a slight frown that his eyes did not move to her upon her entry. Rather, they gazed lazily as a disheveled –though undoubtedly attractive- young woman.

Was that who her brother was interested in? She didn't look like all that much when it came to being a Kunoichi, but perhaps appearances were deceiving. Then again, one didn't have to be a capable Kunoichi to attract the attention of a teenage boy- good looks worked just as well, if not better.

Shaking her head of the thought, she eagerly made her way to sit by her brother, happy to be able to see him after all these years.

She had only made it to the young woman he had been looking at when a hand rested upon her shoulder, halting her movement. Turning to look at the girl who had her brother's attention she let out a frustrated growl at having her reunion interrupted.

"What?" The blonde seemed slightly surprised by something, but she couldn't figure out what it might be. It only took a second for her to recover from her slight shock.

"Don't." It was simple, deceptively so. That one word could mean a great deal in this situation, a great deal that Naruko wasn't liking.

"And why not?" Obviously this girl was trying to stop her from going to her brother and she had no idea why. Did she think she was going to steal her boyfriend? Well, she was right. He was her brother before he was any girl's boyfriend. If she wanted to steal away his attention then it was her right as his sister to do so.

"You have no idea who that is." Naruko nearly laughed. She knew exactly who that was, it was why she was trying to get to him!

"What, your boyfriend? He's my brother, I'll talk to him if I want to." The girl shook in honest terror at the thought of being in a relationship with her brother. Naruko would have been insulted had the fear in her eyes not been so real. She wasn't disgusted by Naruto, she was absolutely terrified. That would warrant some investigation later, what could have possibly made this girl so afraid of her kind older brother?

"Whatever Naruto you knew, he's gone." She pointed towards Naruto who was watching the pair warily, having do doubt recognized his sister. The joy he should have felt at seeing her after all these years was absent, his face cold and expressionless as purple eyes seemed to judge her very existence. "He might look the same, but you don't know what he's capable of."

Sneering, Naruko ripped away her shoulder.

"Che, whatever. You don't know Nii-Kun like I do." Naruko couldn't see the way amethyst pools narrowed at her statement but the girl certainly did. She backed off then, not because of what Naruko had said, but rather because she realized that what had been said obviously displeased the wolf in the corner.

With nothing left to stand in her way she started walking again, only to be interrupted before her second step could fall.

"Alright everybody, sit down. It's time to start the graduation exam."

Umino Iruka had entered the classroom.

With a groan, Naruko sat down in the nearest available seat. It looked like she'd have to wait just a bit longer to spend some time with her brother.

* * *

It was odd for him to realize that he had all but forgotten the family that left him here, hidden amongst the leaves. He was reminded of them from time to time, but never did he find himself thinking of them, too busy with the wolves and his Shinobi training.

Hiruzen had called it a training trip once, but he really hadn't thought hard on that. It had been a trip and at the end of each trip, the return. He had completely overlooked that simple fact.

He had not expected to see them again.

The Wolves had reported their return a week ago, but even then he didn't consider the possibilities of running into them. He really didn't know what to feel about them at this point. His suns had left him, but in that darkness he had found himself purpose and identity, did he really want to flood his world with their light when he had found comfort amongst the shadows?

More importantly, could he bring himself to let them return to his life? They had left him without so much as a goodbye and stayed away for four years without a single letter. Would the pain they would bring be worth letting them back in?

It would be easier to never deal with them, to carry on as he had in their absence, to pretend they were still gone on their trip. And then his sister had entered the room. He would not be able to avoid them longer than he had, it would seem. Or rather, not much longer. A week spent at headquarters had given him time to think, but he still didn't know what he wanted to do.

Avoiding the problem until absolutely necessary was a rather attractive option.

Of course, if he could manage long enough, he could become a Chuunin and not have to worry about it quite so much. As a Chuunin he'd have complete control over what missions he went on and who he did them with. Sure, Kushina was a Kunoichi, a comrade, and so was his sister, her headband tied proudly over her forehead, but just because they were comrades didn't mean he had to work with them. It would be better for everyone if they could all just carry on as if complete strangers.

Picking his own headband off the desk, he tied it around his neck. He had contemplated putting it around his arm as Shikamaru had done but ultimately decided that he may as well protect a rather large weak spot with it.

Iruka re-entered the room at that moment, having done a final confirmation for team formations. They had been decided previously based on those believed capable of passing, but any variances would need to be addressed.

"Settle down, settle down." The chatter of fresh Gennin quickly quieted, paying rapt attention to discover who they would be working with for the foreseeable future. Knowing their attention would disappear as quickly as he had gained it, Iruka quickly began listing team formations.

"….And then we have team seven under Hatake Kakashi which will be formed by Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruko."

"Team eight will be Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba under the guidance of Yuuhi Kurenai."

"Team nine is still going strong, so team ten is made up of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino and will be led by Sarutobi Asuma."

Iruka flipped through his papers one last time before addressing the teams.

"All teams are to report to the designated training field of their number in one hour to meet with their Jounin instructors. Don't be late."

Slowly, Naruto raised his hand.

"And of myself, Sensei?"

"Yes, I have that right here. Due to the number of graduates-" Iruka shot a quick glance to Naruko that was seen by a handful of the students. "We do not have enough fresh Gennin to form another team. Because of this, you are being placed in the active reserves to await an opening in a team or for priority placing during the next graduation, whichever comes first."

It was hard to miss the way his body clenched in anger at the news. Purple eyes glared accusingly at everyone in the room as if they were personally holding him back from starting his Shinobi career in earnest.

Giving a slight cough, Iruka continued. "I have your paperwork here and the official recognition of your current status. I'd recommend going to the Shinobi registration office as soon as possible to get everything sorted. The chances are slim, but new Chuunin may recruit you for lower level missions to gain experience leading. The sooner you get everything taken care of, the higher your chances."

Giving a low growl, Naruto stood and made his way to his instructor of four years, ignoring the mutterings that started as he passed. He grabbed the papers offered to him, his hands shaking in rage, and made for the nearby door.

Four years, four fucking years and now he was being told he'd have to wait longer just because his sister decided to return for a team? It was bullshit, complete and utter bullshit. A mirthless chuckle nearly escaped his lips. It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. As long as he could remember his sister had always been extremely fortunate, he couldn't remember her ever wanting for something or having to work towards her desires.

If Uzumaki luck was real then he suspected that she stole his in the womb.

It could certainly explain the last four years.

Hurrying down a single flight of stairs and through the hallways he usually didn't bother with he knew he needed to find a vacant training ground and work off some steam. After that he'd need to inform Sai and Mai. The three of them had been expecting him to be spending most of his time with a team but it suddenly looked like he had a lot of spare time on his hands.

His plans, however, took a slight detour as he opened the front door of the school.

Standing there in standard Jounin attire, her long red hair moving in the slight breeze, Uzumaki Kushina was waiting. As soon as she saw him her eyes widened in surprised delight, a large smile stretching over her lips. Still angered about not getting a team, he said the first thing that came to mind, his voice as ice and his tongue as swift and deadly as a serpent.

"You're about four years late, aren't you?"

Her pained flinch was oddly satisfying.

* * *

 **Join us again next week for Act XVII**


	17. Inevitable

**The long awaited moment is finally here, the confrontation between Naruto and his family. I honestly don't know what people are expecting from this, probably an emotional Naruto shouting at his mother, but I hope what I've done is satisfactory.**

 **And, if I have screwed it up, no one said there could only be one confrontation, so I can always fall back upon others.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan.**

 **This chapter is, as you can probably tell, a bit late and for that I apologize. I waited until the last minute to finish and by the time I was done ncpfan was busy with other things. I guess I should probably start working on chapters a bit earlier, Ne?**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

' _Sochi.'_

She couldn't help but flinch as if struck as his words sliced into her. He had said it so coldly, too, almost dispassionately like it really didn't matter.

But it did.

Oh gods, it did.

Her chest constricted painfully and her stomach tied itself in knots. This was her son, the young man she had not seen in years, and he seemed no more pleased to see her than he might a stranger. She knew he hadn't received the letter she left, knew he had been unable to live in their home, but should he not be glad they had returned?

From what Kurenai had said the two of them rarely interacted and judging by the fact that he had his own apartment in a decent part of town he was doing well for himself. He had Kurenai and Tsunade to help him and Kakashi had apparently been checking on him from time to time.

So, with those three able to give him everything but a mother's love- unless Kurenai, Tsunade, or Tsunade's apprentice had somehow managed to provide it- why was it her son was staring at her with such uncaring eyes?

Purple, once possessing a royal warmth, had turned as cold as amethyst. No longer could she see sparks of joy and curiosity that had always reminded her of a younger Minato but instead felt as though she was staring into the gaze of her war-hardened husband. Like a predator, they took in every detail about her, watching for any move against them. Those eyes had darted around the surroundings several times and she was not so foolish to think he hadn't been identifying escape routes in case something went wrong.

But what could he possibly be expecting to happen? She was his mother, all she wanted was for him to be safe and happy, why would he act as though she were some potential threat? What could have possibly happened to her son to make him act like this?

He had grown taller in her absence and had a body reminiscent of Kakashi's. The blue shirt hugged him tightly and showed that he had been working himself hard. His skin, what little of it she could see, was just as pale as she remembered and his hair, while longer, remained the deep bloodred mess it had always been.

And still, she had trouble focusing on anything other than his eyes.

She knew her leaving would have hurt him, he had always thought the world of his family, but she had hoped that those in Konoha would have been able to keep him happy, would have been able to maintain that brilliant warmth her son always had.

What stood before her was more like a statue than the shy boy who took every chance he got to hug his mother and sister. Though they had been reserved for them and even then quite rare, his smiles were brighter than the sun and never failed to warm her heart.

His lips remained in a relaxed frown, unmoving as those haunting purple eyes watched and waited for her to respond. How many nights had she dreamed of their happy reunion? In every image there had been emotion overflowing and yet this meeting was nothing like that.

She had hoped for him to come running to her, wrapping his arms around her waist in the biggest hug he had ever given. She had wanted to see happy tears and the smile that brightened her world. She needed to see the love in his eyes.

But she knew that might not be the case.

She had prepared herself as much as she could for tears, to see the look of betrayal on his face, to see the pain she had caused him by breaking a promise and stealing away his family. But still, she had expected that pain to have been caused by the love he held for them.

Anger she could have dealt with, that white-hot fury that may have consumed him upon seeing the one who had walked out of his life and left him relying on the generosity of family friends. She wouldn't have minded if he had launched himself at her in an attack, she would have sparred with him until his fury had run its course and then, when he was almost too tired to stand, she would have pulled him into her arms and told him it would all be okay now.

She'd have told him that she was back and would never leave him again.

And the anger in his eyes would have shown how much he had loved them.

The amethyst gaze that bore deep into her soul held no love.

And it broke her heart.

* * *

She wasted no time scurrying after him, practically leaping over her desk and out of the classroom. She was not oblivious to the looks shot to her but despite the way the instructor had accused her of stealing her brother's spot the looks were not that of contempt. If anything, they seemed to be pitying her.

Was it because they knew she was his sister or had it something to do with the fear the blonde had shown earlier?

Ignoring it for now, she scampered down the halls in hopes of catching her brother. It was obvious he was upset that he didn't get a team after four years of hard work, but he didn't know that was a good thing. Now that she had a team her mother could focus all her attention onto her brother. The only way to that while furthering his Shinobi career was, of course, an apprenticeship. She could only imagine how far he would go being the apprentice of Uzumaki Kushina. He would no doubt advance rapidly and would probably reach Jounin within a scant few years.

Now if only he had been a couple years older than her, then he quite possibly could have been her Jounin instructor. He'd be loads better than that lazy pervert Kakashi. Of course, just because he wasn't her instructor didn't mean she couldn't go on missions with him once she reached Chuunin. She'd just have to work hard to ensure she could achieve the rank necessary to join him. Maybe if she was fortunate she could become a Chuunin before he was a Jounin and join her mother and brother for missions.

There was nothing like a family outing you were getting paid for, especially if they got to rescue a princess. She couldn't wait to be thanked by being invited to some royal ball. Sure, she had visited the palaces of several Daimyo, but those places were stiff and boring. She wanted to go to a palace filled with life and cheer and spend the night dancing as the honored guest of the princess.

She gave a small giggle at the thought. It would be so much fun, having the rest of her family there would only make it better.

Not bothering with the steps, she jumped own them and continued on. Her brother hadn't been that far ahead of her when he left and unless he had abandoned his brisk walk to run she should be catching up with him soon.

And soon was right.

Not two moments later she came to the front entrance of the academy to see her brother standing in the doorway. Over his shoulder she could see her mother in the schoolyard, smiling at the sight of her son. A smile found itself on Naruko's face. If there was anyone who could cheer him up it would be their mother. Besides, who better to tell him that she wanted to take him on as an apprentice?

Deep within her she could feel her prisoner stir, as if they felt her close proximity to her brother, and she was aware of a heat around the seal. It wasn't a painful heat, but rather a comforting, relaxing heat that felt quite good in the Hi no Kuni autumn. Soon she'd be able to hold up her end of the bargain and then she'd never have to worry about being overpowered by an opponent. Who lived these days who could possibly stand against the full might of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?

She could have sworn the fox within her was pleased by her thoughts.

Turning her attention back to her family, the smile of both she and her mother fell at her brother's words.

"You're about four years late, aren't you?"

Her mother flinched at the words but Naruko flinched at the tone. Never had she heard her brother speak like that to anyone. She was pretty sure Naruto and Kurenai hated each other, based on how they acted around one another, but even then his voice always remained politely warm. This biting cold should not have left her brother's lips. He was to bright, to warm, to be the source of such frigid words.

He was like a sun, so where was the brightness they all knew and loved?

Having stepped forward while speaking, Naruko was able so slip out from behind her brother. Not knowing what she should do, she moved to the side to watch.

Her mother seemed to struggle with words as she gazed sadly at her firstborn, pain evident in her eyes. Her brother, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned. Only briefly did anger flash in those beautiful purple eyes, but it was gone just as quick, replaced by calm, focused eyes that took in everything around him. She could have sworn he had peered at her from the corner of his eyes for a split second, but she couldn't be sure.

"N-Naruto-Kun." Finally managed Kushina. The words came out chocked, as if she might start sobbing at any moment. Naruko wasn't sure if it was due to his lack of reaction past those biting words or because seeing him reminded her that she had left him behind and was just now seeing how much he had grown in the four years she was away. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

In response to his name, Naruto gave a slight incline of his head.

"Uzumaki-Sama."

It was easy to see that referring to her in such a formal manner hurt far more than his accusatory first sentence. Something between a strangled gasp and a sob emerged from her mother's lips.

"Naruto-Kun, Sochi." She spread her arms slightly, as if inviting him to embrace her. Rage flashed again in his eyes before he pushed it down with a deep breath.

"I am no son of yours, Uzumaki!" It came hissed from behind clenched teeth as he struggled to maintain control of himself but it still carried clearly to his mother's ears.

Naruko could see as her mother's heart shattered, eyes wide with horrified disbelief. Tears streamed down her face as she desperately tried and failed to speak or breath. Legs, unable to carry the heavy heart, collapsed under the weight of her sorrow as Kushina fell to her knees.

"No. No, no,no,no." Her mother shook her head in denial as she buried her face into her hands. Naruko winced in sympathy. She knew this was one of her mother's deepest fears, the nightmare that haunted her during the trip. And now it was all coming true.

Running to her side, Naruko was quick to drop to her knees and wrap her arms around her mother in a comforting hug. As if she were a lifeline, her mother's own arms encircled her, dragging her close as she cried into her daughter's clothes. Peering up from her distraught mother, Naruko's blue eyes met the purple of her brother.

There was no sympathy shown on his face, no pity, but neither was there disgust or hatred. There was nothing, nothing but cold indifference once again settling over his features. It was as though he was gazing down at a pair of strangers, a mere passerby that had stopped to see why two women were collapsed on the floor.

And a moment later, he turned to leave.

"Nii-Kun!" She shouted after him. He paused, momentarily, and looked back at her from over his shoulder. Not one further word left his lips as he continued on. Naruko felt her own heart tremble. Hadn't he loved her, hadn't he said that he'd protect her and look out for her?

Why then, did he turn his back on her now?

A traitorous part of her mind responded, a vile whisper that hissed into her soul and cut more deeply than her brother's indifference.

' _Because it was you who turned your back on him.'_

She tightened her embrace on her crying mother and allowed her own tears to join the mix. And so, collapsed within the academy schoolyard, Konoha's Uzumaki clan wept.

The single witness, perched atop the academy building, observed their sorrow.

He was not moved.

* * *

He supposed they should be rather grateful that Naruto had not reacted in a more heated manner, for if he had Kakashi was sure his own anger would have gotten the better of him. Naruto may have managed to form himself a new life without them, one he was quite adverse to surrendering, but Kakashi's life was the same. He may have been okay with Kushina- His Sensei could have chosen far worse than the energetic redheaded swordswoman- but Naruto was the legacy of the man who had become like a father to him.

To know he had suffered was bad enough, for it to be at the hands of the woman who birthed him, the woman the Yondaime had entrusted his children to, infuriated the Copy-Ninja beyond reason. And then she just showed up and expected things to fall into place? Negative.

Of course, if Naruto was willing to work with her, so be it. He was, after all, the one who had been hurt by this. It may have been acceptable for Kakashi to be angered on his behalf, but just because he thought something needed to go a certain way didn't mean the son of his Sensei agreed. Seeing as this was for Naruto, the last call would be his.

His single eye narrowed down at the two women below. What right did they have to cry? Not only did they cry, but they cried together! They had left Naruto to fend for himself, knowingly or not, and just because he had stepped in to keep an eye on the boy didn't change the fact that Kushina hadn't even come to him to see if he'd be able to take care of His Sensei's son.

He hadn't even known she was leaving until he had heard rumor of Naruto being locked out of the clan compound. Even if he hadn't been locked out of the compound, Naruto would have needed someone for at least the first few months to get him ready to live on his own.

Kurenai was a competent Kunoichi and a fine woman, but her past wouldn't have made it easy for her. Sometimes he wondered if Kushina forgot about Kurenai's childhood and the subsequent inability to deal with men. She had been coping well enough these past few years after his Sensei, Namikaze Minato, the one man she seemed comfortable around, died sealing away the Kyuubi, but maybe that's why Kushina didn't think anything of it.

The only man Kushina ever saw Kurenai interact with was her husband and lately Kurenai had been able to hold full conversations with some of the grocers whose shops she frequented, to the redhead it must have seemed she had manage to conquer her demons.

Though now that she was able to meet with Naruto, albeit in the presence of her friend Mitarashi Anko, one probably could claim that she was getting better. Well, with Naruto, at least. But let's face it, Naruto was really the only one it mattered for. Who cared if she couldn't interact well with some random person who approached her? So long as her issues didn't interfere with her interactions with the son of her Sensei it was good enough.

Regardless, when Kushina left Kurenai was in no state to take care of a young boy by herself. He, on the other hand, was more than available. Would he have had to put his career on hold? Of course, but what was that compared to looking after the son of his Sensei? In the end, however, perhaps remaining in ANBU had been for the best. Had he not been active there would have been no way for him to cover all of Naruto's less than legal activities.

It didn't' make her actions any better, but at least Naruto wasn't subject to any additional misfortune.

Of course, crying on the ground because the one you turned your back on isn't so quick to let you back into their life wasn't earning them any points in his book and neither was the fact that he had to be saddled with the Uchiha on team seven without Naruto. He didn't want a team, but if he had to take one having the redhead would have given him a good reason to actually teach.

Kushina, however, had other plans. He wasn't sure why the Hokage had gone with it, seeing as her last plans had crumbled instantly, but she had managed to convince him to not place her son on a team so she could take him on as an apprentice. Kakashi highly doubted anyone asked for Naruto's opinion.

Being a rather experienced Jounin he could tell that Naruko needed a team in order to reconnect to the village she had returned to and he knew none of the clan children would have been removed lest the iure of their families be invoked, but why couldn't the old man replaced the Haruno with him? Sure, according to his grade the teams would be unbalanced and it would upset generations long traditions, but who gave a flying fuck?

He wanted Naruto on a team, Naruko needed a team, and he was the only one able to train Uchiha Sasuke in using the Sharingan. It was perfect. Well, perfect if you ignored having to place Naruto on a team with his sister. Kakashi doubted he'd be pleased, but with the teacher on his side they could make thing work, he was sure. Unfortunately, he couldn't worry about that because he wasn't going to be able to teach his Sensei's son.

He was sure there were others, too, but they were probably likewise bound by something that would keep them from taking him on. Whether that was by design or Naruto's horrid luck, it looked like an apprenticeship with his mother was his only option. He had briefly entertained the idea of it being Kushina's luck that gave her such a perfect opportunity but then Naruto had reminded him of the other option the boy had.

He had walked the fuck away.

Kakashi was almost as proud as he had been when the boy had taken his first kill and slightly more so than when that attractive Yamanaka was hanging of his arm. The fact that he had done so with a few cutting words to those that had left him? That just made it all the better and, hopefully, drove home the point that this Naruto, this Shinobi, was not the little boy they had left behind.

Then again, knowing Kushina, it would take far more than that for her to accept it. Oh well, it wasn't his problem. As long as Naruto was okay, that's all that really mattered.

Checking the time, ge gave a pleased smirk. He still had fifty minutes until he had to meet his team. Reaching into his Kunai pouch, he withdrew his trusty Icha-Icha. He had plenty of time left to enjoy himself.

He ignored the sobbing below him and turned to where he had left off.

Who knows? Maybe being a Sensei wouldn't be too bad.

* * *

They both looked up in surprise when their leader stalked into the room, a low growl rumbling in his throat. Sharing a quick glance, the male of the two set about clearing off the desk they had been using and his female comrade moved towards the man to whom they had pledged themselves.

Gently placing one hand on his arm and another on his shoulder she escorted him to his desk. As soon as he had sunk into the black office chair her hands moved to either side of his neck, gently rubbing the tense muscle.

"What troubles you, my lord?" The words were whispered softly into his ear as she continued her ministrations and he visibly relaxed under the combination of her practiced hands and familiar voice.

A moment or two longer was spent enjoying the simple pleasure her hands brought him but his voice, coming out as an unfamiliar frigid tone, eventually reached her ears as he spoke softly. The rage he was attempting to restrain was obvious but it brought her great satisfaction to see that she was able to aid him with her tender touch.

"Our plans must change." The growl of displeasure faded quickly into one of approval as one of the knots was worked out of his shoulder.

"If I may ask, my liege, what happened?" Purple eyes opened to recognize his second favorite subordinate standing before his desk, arms held behind his back but in an overall rather relaxed posture.

"My blood has returned, as you know." Sai gave a quick nod to show that he was aware and Naruto continued. "With Naruko joining the graduates this year there are too many to properly place on teams."

There was a sharp intake of breath behind him and he was aware of Sai's face contorting into a concerned frown.

"I have no doubt you both know what this means. Our plans must change, but I am certain I will be able to find a way to make sure this is not a complete loss. It will, however, undoubtedly, cost us many more hours of planning than have already been spent on our current arrangement."

"I see." Sai's frown deepened. Thinking for a moment he inquired; "Would you have me start to organize everything back to our previous setup, or would you like to change them from what we have now?"

"What we have now should suffice until we've decided how to best take advantage of my situation."

"Understood. With your leave, I will notify the Wolves." The Konoha salute, right arm held horizontally and fist over heart, had been drilled into the pale boy from a young age and now, before the desk of his younger lord, he brought much pride to the gesture.

With a wave from Naruto's hand he had been dismissed and left to carry out his duties.

Minutes more past in silence as Mai continued to work the muscles of her lord's upper back, long since having finished her self-appointed task but neither wishing to disturb the calm peace within his office. Deciding she couldn't keep massaging the same muscles indefinitely she let her arms drop to his front where they loosely encircled his neck.

She buried her face into the crook of his neck for a moment as her fingers traced lightly over the blue fabric of his shirt. Her lips rose to his ear and she was careful to be as quiet as possible in the silence of his office, almost as if she feared speaking too loudly might turn this sanctuary against them.

"Do you require anything else, Naruto-Sama? Food? Drink? Perhaps a warm bath or some company?"

He leaned back into her touch, enjoying the embrace. Mai was without a doubt his most favored of subordinates and an excellent companion.

"You know, that sounds lovely. I think we'll call it a day and go spend some time in my apartment. I wasn't planning on being active in running the wolves for the next few months, losing a single day isn't bad at all."

"I'm glad to hear that Naruto-Sama, you've had a stressful day. I'd be happy to help you rest." Despite saying this, she made no move to release him from her loose embrace.

Perhaps he could turn that day into a week-long vacation.

It was a rather tempting idea.

* * *

A series of knocks dragged him from the comforting arms of slumber and instead into the equally comfortable lap of Mai. She hummed a simple tune as her hands lazily ran through his crimson locks, perfectly content to keep him company as he slept.

Too relaxed on the couch like this- a rather dangerous thing for any Shinobi to do, competent guards or no- to get up and answer the door, he instead shot a look to a corner of the room. When the shadows gave birth to the snarling face of a wolf he gave a simple nod and his will was done.

He could hear as the locks of his door were undone and the door cracked open slightly to identify the visitor. They had gotten this far without being stopped by the Wolves stationed around his apartment which meant the identification did little more than tell those within his home who they would be dealing with.

He didn't hear what was said and lacked the will to remove his head from such an exquisite pillow so he simply lay there awaiting whatever guest had decided to stop by for a visit.

"Did you sleep well, Master?" Her soft voice contained a warmth often absent when she tended to her duties among the Wolves but he enjoyed being able to hear it in the less formal setting of his home.

"Quite well, thank you. You make an excellent pillow." Despite not being able to see her -facing away from the couch as he was- he knew she had given a quick nod and was able to hear her faint laugh.

"I'm glad I could be of service." And service she had been. Returning for the first time in a week to the apartment he called home she had cooked him a quick meal and left him to eat as she drew a bath. She had returned in time to share some of the meal after which she aided him in bathing and treated him to another massage. When all was done they had settled themselves upon his couch and it wasn't long until he had drifted off.

"You really are too good to me." He mumbled. She gave a giggle and shook her head, her lips pulling into a smirk.

"Only the best for Naruto-Sama."

"Oh, 'Naruto-Sama' is it? How cute." Came a new voice- a very familiar voice.

"Mitarashi-san, how nice of you to visit. Please, have a seat." As she crossed into his vision she gave a smirk and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'd love to but it would seem the best spot's been taken by that pretty little girlfriend of yours."

Mai didn't waste a second.

"You're more than welcome to it, Mitarashi-Sama, so long as Naruto-Sama doesn't mind me getting up."

"Heh, looks like you found yourself a keeper, kid." Anko ignored the way the young woman frowned at her lord being called a child and instead sat down on the floor in front of them, leaning back against the couch. It was not two seconds later that her purple hair had been removed from her trademark ponytail and Naruto's hands were busy straightening it out with his fingers. She didn't bother trying to stop him, she never did. He had mentioned liking her hair down and if that's what he'd prefer then she'd indulge him. Not only had he freed her of the burden she had carried for a good portion of her life but at moments like this he almost seemed like the child he should have been.

There were few and precious moments where he was like this, there was no good reason to ruin it.

After a few minutes of him running his fingers through her hair much like Mai was doing with his Anko decided to speak up.

"So, I heard what happened with the teams." Only Mai could see her master raise a brow at that.

"Did you? News certainly travels quickly."

"As quickly as the Chuunin can run, usually," She grinned. "They spread about news like wildfire. "

"Interesting."

Anko gave a nod. "Quite. Now, as I was saying, I heard about you not being placed on a team. I think it's crap, you managed to draw me into an ambush that you had set up, after all," Anko still wasn't sure what had managed to get him on the good side of these Wolves but it must have been big. How else would one explain not only their help capturing her and opposing the Yamanaka so staunchly but the fact that they were sparing guards to ensure his safety? "But I think we could have some fun with it."

"Oh? What kind of fun?"

"Well, despite the fact that T&I is always busy, it's usually pretty slow for us interrogators. As such, we tend to get a lot of time off. Seeing as you are now a Shinobi I wouldn't be too opposed to requesting some help on missions from our active reserve lists." Despite the fact that they couldn't see it, both Naruto and Mai knew she was grinning.

His head still comfortably resting upon Mai's lap, Naruto gave a shrug.

"Sounds good, I wouldn't mind a mission every now and then until I manage to get a team."

"Great, then it's settled, the two of us are going to become the most famous team of Shinobi to ever be." Naruto gave a deep chuckle and even Mai let out a quiet giggle.

"Sure, Mitarashi-san, if you're going to do something you need to do it right, no?"

"Exactly! Speaking of doing things right-" She turned her head around to grin at him. "You graduated today, which means you owe me that dinner."

"Ah, I suppose I do." He looked at Anko's grinning face and then back up to the content smile of Mai who had yet to stop playing with his hair. "I don't think either of you are against me treating you two to dinner tonight, then?"

"Ooh, one woman not enough for you Naruto-Kun?" It was Mai who beat him to a response.

"Of course not, only the best for Naruto-Sama." As Anko chocked on air at the girl's quick response Naruto gave a deep laugh.

The first laugh he remembered having in a very long time.

While her lord made his amusement known, a tender smile touched Mai's lips. It was far too rare for him to seem so happy. A few chuckles every now and then showed his amusement, but to see him laugh? It brought a warmth to her chest to see him like this and she looked down at him fondly.

She would do whatever she could to keep him like this.

All she wanted was for her master to be happy.

* * *

 **See you all next week.**


	18. Hinata no Mikoto

**Welcome back to my theatre, I hope you're ready for the show. I know a lot of you wanted to see further into the thoughts of Naruko and Kushina, so this chapter may seem a bit slow. Next chapter, however, should be much slower, as I want to get rid of as much necessary 'filler' as possible before the 10k chapter Twenty.**

 **Thanks as always goes to ncpfan for his help in ironing out this story.**

 **I only have one thing before I let the curtains raise and it's about a rather odd review I received last Saturday. A few hours after posting chapter XVII a guest reviewer asked me if I will be continuing the story or if it is permanently retired.**

 **Permanently** **retired...when I had just updated it...**

 **I find myself rather confused by this and had to pause for a few moments when I first read it.**

 **I'm not exactly sure why they would put that in their review, but perhaps someone in the audience might have an idea that could shed some light on this.**

 **Anyways, I've kept you all from the show long enough.**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

Relaxed was a bad word to describe him as he walked down the streets of Konoha with Anko and Mai on his arms, but he was certainly at ease with the knowledge that the wolves kept silent vigil over him. There were not many, but with the addition of patrolling ANBU it was more than enough.

A passerby gave him a slight nod as he met their eyes and he had to fight back the smirk that threatened to curve his lips. Unlike the ANBU who used their presence to deter trouble, his wolves kept themselves hidden amongst the flocks. They could not risk being discovered so early into the game and so masks were reserved for within headquarters – or the Den, as Sai called it- and when working outside of Konoha.

With any luck they wouldn't have to worry about that soon. It was going to be a glorious day when his wolves could prowl in full view of the world.

Returning the nod, he let his attention drift to his current company. Mai touched lightly upon his right arm, as if hesitant to make such contact in public. She fought admirably to keep the disinterested face she so often wore but it was ruined by the light blush and the uncertainty that had crept over her features. Nevertheless, he knew she was keeping a careful watch for any threats within the crowds. She always carried a few knives on her and he had no doubt that anything she felt hostile would find two of them buried into it without a second thought.

Anko, on the other hand –and at that, the other arm- seemed completely comfortable being seen on his arm. Perhaps she had grown used to the stares or the slight looks of disgust or maybe she just didn't care what others thought but she walked calmly by his side quite likely more interested in where they would go for dinner than any rumors that might spread. He did not know for certain if she carried any weapons on her, but considering her reputation it was safe to assume she did. He tried not to think about her apparel or how few places it provided to hide any sort of weapon. The last thing he needed to do was provide her with more ways to tease him.

A slight breeze rolled past them, carrying with it the smell of autumn, and he briefly wondered if he should have brought his cloak with him. He had left both of his gifts at home tonight, the cloak and Mōryō's Tooth, but had a Kunai holster on each leg in case something should happen. Looking down at his regular attire of blue shirt and black pants, it briefly crossed his mind that he probably should have worn something other than his Shinobi outfit.

' _Too late to change it now.'_ He mused. And it wasn't as if he was the least well-dressed amongst the group either, Anko's curious choice of attire was far more suited to barhopping within the red-light district than going out for a nice dinner.

Of course, no one would point out something like that to Mitarashi Anko and there were few who would want to. She had an excellent body, one she worked hard for, and she was happy to show it.

And he, like many others, enjoyed looking at it.

He would deny it if she asked him, just to spare himself the teasing, but he had a feeling that she was well aware. In fact, she seemed almost pleased whenever she caught him looking at her. If there was one thing he knew about the woman it was that she loved attention. It didn't matter who she got it from either, just so long as they kept their hands to themselves. He was more than willing to be one of those who gave her the attention she so sought.

And it was now, giving her that attention, that he missed the blue eyes watching as he escorted the two women on his arms down the busy streets of Konohagakure.

Perhaps it was best that he did not see them. He was in a good mood, after all, it would have been a shame to ruin it.

* * *

It was there and gone in an instant, but there was no way she could have missed it. Brushing over her senses, she could feel his presence as it ghosted away, like the fleeting touch of a lover you would never see again.

But she would see him again, no matter what it took.

How her body trembled at that brief instant, oh how it ached when he slipped away again. He was there, so close, and yet she could do nothing. So blinding was that glimpse of the sun that now the darkness around her had multiplied a hundred fold. The warmth he brought was taken as soon as she could recognize it, stolen away by fate's cruel mistress.

She could beg, she could plead, but here within this prison he could not hear her, could not see that she needed him again. Two long years had passed, the most miserable years of her life, dreaming about returning to him once more.

Two years plagued by fears and nightmares that he may never take her back.

And now, so close to her escape, salvation was once again denied.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to lash out against all that had separated them, but above all, she wanted him.

With every second of the last few years she had come closer and closer to being reunited and now, with every second, he moved farther and farther away.

' _Move, go after him!'_ It was half scream and half desperate sob as she wished her jail could hear her. _'Can't you see him? Can't you feel him? Don't let him get away!'_

It would be of no use, her prison could not hear her cries, not like her warden had been able to. No, he had trusted her, had allowed her such freedom that she could speak into his thoughts. His sister had not been so trusting, and perhaps that was more wise than she would care to admit.

He had trusted her and she had betrayed him. It was not the elimination of Tatsuki that was her betrayal, that had been in his best interest even if he couldn't see it or refused to accept it. She had not betrayed him by killing the whore, but by going behind his back to do it. And then, instead of apologizing for doing it without permission, for not taking the time to convince him that this was the best way, she had left him.

Left him when he had needed her most.

Left him when he was most vulnerable.

Left him when she could have cemented herself as the most important part of his life.

She could feel slight bits of anger and jealousy leaking from her jail which told her two things. First, that she had indeed spotted her brother. And second, that he had already found another. That she could have guessed. It had been two years; of course someone else would have been able to enter his life given that much time.

They would be competition for his attention later, she knew, but there was a part of her that couldn't help but be glad. She knew how much her companionship had meant to him. It may have not been in the same manner as the Yamanaka that was often with him, but she was well aware how much the knowledge that he had a constant companion had helped him get through each day.

And then she had not just left him, but she had left those words with him.

Those horrid, horrid words.

Though, if he had found someone new, there was a good chance those words haunted her more than they did him. He seemed to have been able to find companionship despite them, but it very well could be those words that damned her from ever being close to him again.

Because she knew, despite those biting words-

It was she who was not worthy of him.

* * *

He seemed relaxed to her, walking calmly down the street. it was a far cry from what she had witnessed just hours before. Gone was the anger, that frozen fury barely restrained behind clenched teeth. She had a feeling that most of his ease came from the two walking with him. Slight jealously briefly flashed in her heart. He was her brother, why was it these two were able to spend time with him when she couldn't? It should have been her walking beside him, should have been her who had caused his anger to dissipate.

Instead, she was simply another body within the crowd, watching as her brother slipped further and further away. Moving through the crowd as best she could, she struggled to keep him in sight. Unlike her, he seemed to have no trouble navigating the mass of bodies despite the companion on each arm.

Both women were older than him, the one on his left more obviously so, and yet they hung off her brother like trollops. The eldest of the group was clothed only in a small skirt and an open coat over fishnet, as if her brother had just pulled her out of one of the many bars or clubs found in the red-light district. There was a pleased grin splitting her face and no sign of shame despite her actions. It was easy enough to see her brother look over to her every few moments, no doubt ensnared by the older woman's appearance. Naruko would put money down that the whore was trying to seduce her poor brother for some nefarious purpose.

The second woman didn't seem so bad, however, being only a few years older than her brother and acting in a far more reserved manner. Her hands rested on his arm gently, establishing just enough contact to show people who she was walking with and to allow her to be guided along as they traversed the roads of Konoha. When Naruko could see the woman's face she could see the slight embarrassment, but at what she couldn't tell.

The older woman, however, was a pretty good guess.

Was this reserved one a friend? Perhaps she was the sister of a friend or even someone who had become lost, but Naruko liked her a lot more than she did the other. Even if she happened to be her brother's girlfriend Naruko had to grudgingly admit that he could have choose worse, at least she wasn't the other woman.

One would not be wrong to say that Naruko really didn't like the purple-haired woman hanging off her brother.

With any luck the woman would lose interest and leave her brother in the company of his dark-haired companion. At least then she'd have a better chance of moving into the group to speak with her brother or catching him alone. Of course, if they could both just bugger off right now, that would be preferable. The sooner she could talk to him the sooner she could get her answer and she wanted answers.

She needed to ask about the blonde from the academy, the Yamanaka who had stopped her, and figure out why she was so scared of him. She had to know why he seemed so cold and distant; she wanted to hear what he had been up to over the past few years. What had he done? Who had he stayed with?

Why didn't he want to talk to his mother or sister?

That probably bothered her the most.

They had been so close just four years ago, but now he acted as if he had never met them. Had they been gone so long that he saw them as strangers to his life? Was it because he had somehow forgotten them? No, that wasn't possible. There was no way her brother could ever forget them, he had loved them both far too much for that to ever be the case. There had to be something else then, something she was missing.

And she would get to the bottom of it.

* * *

With every bit of news his prince seemed only greater in his eyes. He was beyond giddy to learn that Naruto had his first kill four years ago and found himself surprised when he tore through his closest known friend two years after that. Hearing that someone had become an enemy of his godson had his blood boiling but to know the clan had been brought to its knees –without violence, even- pleased him to no end.

The picture, in all its perfection, had become far too outdated six years after it had been masterfully created. A new portrait had taken its place, showing the exact same image only aged. There was a hardness in those brilliant purple eyes and a sharpness that sent shivers down his spine.

Lips remained in a dispassionate frown, as if it were distasteful for his image to be confined in a mere picture frame. His features were sharper now, having grown from the young boy into a young man, and brought with it a sense of nobility that far outshone the princely image he had previously. To compare that picture to this one was to compare the corpse of a pig to a divine being.

His prince's hair was still as red as blood, a messy crown of crimson that had grown to reach his shoulders. The artist had taken the liberty to pull some of the hair into a small ponytail at the base of his neck and Orochimaru couldn't help but agree with the decision and the more regal feeling it gave the image.

Pale skin stood out in deep contrast to the dark background, glowing like the moon. It was not natural, could not be natural, to have such perfect skin, and yet that's what this picture showed. He could choose to believe that the artist was lying to him when they painted this masterpiece, but that was to doubt the beauty of his prince.

Orochimaru would never doubt his prince.

He had not seen his beloved prince, not since his departure from the village a little more than a decade ago, but the artist had. He had it arranged for him to be brought into the village, had risked his spies to ensure that the image would be as it truly was. It had been more than worth it.

Of course, good news eventually gave way to the bad, and it would seem Kushina had decided to return. He did not know if she had met with her son yet, or if he was once again living with the family that had left him, but he'd have to hold off on any more gifts until he was certain. It was a pity too; he had finally found something worth giving.

His gaze briefly drew away from the painting to rest on the woman sleeping before him or, more specifically, the necklace that rested on her bare chest. A golden circle of coils shone brightly in the dim torchlight of this room dedicated to his prince. To think, he had managed to come across such an artifact as this. It never ceased to astound him how fortunate he seemed to be when his goal was somehow related to his godson.

Yes, this would be the perfect thing for the young prince, something that could bring them closer than any of the gifts he had given before.

Torchlight seemed to melt over the golden coils of the necklace in agreement, bringing a smile to his lips. Considering what lay before him, or more importantly what it represented, he was quite tempted to keep it for himself but that just wouldn't do. It had been four years now and yet his prince had only received two gifts.

It was unacceptable. He had eight years to make up for and now two for which he had been unable to find anything suitable. He could not take this from him, would not take this from him. It was better in his hands anyway. He was Orochimaru the Snake Sannin; he had no practical use for the amulet of Aū. His prince, however, could make use of it and so it would go to him.

That was one taken care of, now he only had nine more gifts to go.

Idly his gaze moved from the necklace to the one who currently wore it. With long black hair much like his own and skin almost as pale, he found it quite odd to look upon her. Two pale fingers found themselves running carefully over her cheek but he had no fear of waking her. She slept now not by nature, but by his will.

From her cheek his fingers drifted down her neck and over her chest, coning to stop at the red sheet that covered her feet and reached to just above her navel. It was a strange feeling when he thought about it, to be touching yourself without feeling it, for this flesh, her flesh, would soon enough be his flesh.

He entertained the thought briefly of taking advantage of her sleeping state before banishing it from his mind. He wasn't about to allow another body to defile his future vessel, even if both were to be him. He trailed back up her body and ghosted over her ruby lips. Carefully he parted them and it wasn't long before they came to her tongue. This was the prize, the entire reason he had decided that he would use this body as his vessel.

The ability to manipulate such a powerful muscle in the manner this woman could was previously unheard of, but it was here now, just waiting to be claimed. To extend his tongue as if it were a fifth limb was a chance he couldn't pass up, not when none of the other potential candidates had anything more interesting.

He had hoped, briefly, that he might snatch up an Uchiha, but that seemed to be beyond his grasp for now. He'd just have to wait for the last survivor to have some kids he could snatch up or until he had a chance to obtain the last Uchiha himself. The later was preferable timewise, but his chances of success were far better for the former option.

His fingers were removed from her mouth and instead moved to open a single yellow eye. She was so like a snake, so like himself in appearance, that he had to wonder if he might not have had a child he was unaware of. Seed or not, her body would be his within the fortnight and would remain his flesh for two years afterwards.

A lot could happen in two years, he knew, and he was slightly curious if he would first introduce himself to his godson while draped in her flesh. Then again, that could be to his benefit. His spies spoke often of his prince being within the company of women, it seemed almost as if that's all he interacted with on a regular basis. If that was the case, perhaps it would be preferable to meet like this.

And if his little prince was stricken by the beauty of this body, all the better to gain his trust and bring him home. Yes, home, for here, in a place that would bow to his every whim, was the only place that could be a suitable for him to live the life he deserved.

If the prince was still attracted after learning his identity, then so be it. After all, every prince needs the loving guidance of a queen. It wouldn't hurt to remain female a while longer for his godson, he was to be immortal, after all.

What was a few decades as a woman compared to the happiness of his prince?

* * *

Noonday sun shone brightly into the house but it could do nothing to impart its warmth and light upon the sole occupant. There was a cold that clung to her, a deep blackness of despair and misery. She had not managed to make it to her bedroom before she had broken down in tears, collapsing into the plush carpet before the green couch of her living room. It was this couch, the one she had sat and told stories to her children on, that she had planned her wedding with her fiancé from, where she had made love with her husband on numerous times, that now caught her tears as she buried her face into the familiar cushions.

His words, few as they were, still cut into her heart with the same icy sharpness they possessed when they passed through his lips. A single sentence had been more than enough to remind her of her failures, her fears, and her deepest regrets, and he spoke it without mercy or hesitation.

She deserved it, she knew she did. The fault rested solely upon her shoulders, the very same shoulders that now shook as uncontrollable sobs racked her body.

Had she not left she wouldn't be having these troubles, she'd instead be congratulating her son on graduating from the academy as she asked him what he'd like to eat for their celebration dinner. The three of them would be here together, as a family, enjoying the close company and familiar warmth they had always shared. Tonight it looked to be only her, Naruko having run off in an attempt to bring Naruto home.

Home.

This was not his home, not since he had been locked from it four years ago. He had a new home now, she had seen it. A comfortable little apartment, far from the clan district, had taken upon itself the role. How long had he lived there? Was he alone or was there someone living with him? There had been a young woman with long black hair that exited his apartment, had she been a roommate of sorts to lower the cost? Perhaps she was a friend he had made in their absence or an elder sister figure.

Until she found Naruto these questions and many, many more would remain unanswered and it was tearing her apart. She needed to know what had happened while she was away, what he had gone through.

Otherwise she'd never be able to make things up to him.

The thought of not making things up, not setting things right, was horrifying. Not just because she had wronged her son but because she would never be able to repair the relationship that seemed to have shattered in her absence.

Could being left with others really have been so bad?

Or had it simply been the fact that she had left him?

She had promised to be there, as he brought up immediately upon their reunion, and instead stole his sister away and left him behind without family. Sure, she had always considered Kurenai her daughter and Tsunade was the godmother of her children, but that had nothing on the bonds of blood that had been severed. The Uzumaki pride family over everything and while it doesn't matter if your family is blood or not, for blood to turn from blood was unthinkable.

And yet that's exactly what she had done.

There was no excuse for an Uzumaki to be left behind. Even if remaining would bring death to them, yourself, and all your people, it was believed that it was better to die with family than to live knowing you had turned your back on them.

She had not been able to bring herself to do so.

Worried for his health and future, scarred for her baby, she had left him behind.

She had betrayed her blood.

And she hadn't even sent a damn letter.

She knew it probably would have meant the world to him to hear from her after she had left, but were she to send letters he would no doubt respond. Sure, she could tell him not to because they would be moving around often during the trip, but to send letter to him that he was forbidden to respond to would have been terrible. What would she have to say to him beyond the progress his sister was making? She could ask questions about his life, but he would be unable to answer. In the end, he would become bitter, hearing only about his sister and how much she seemed to be favored. She would be unable to tell him those thoughts were wrong because he would never be able to share them with her.

His responses, however, would have been far worse. To know how much he missed them, to hear his pleading for their return would break her heart. She wouldn't have been able to do it, she knew, for the first letter he sent would have likely brought her back to Konoha and Naruto back into danger.

She couldn't do that to him.

And yet, perhaps that would have been for the best. Maybe the chance of damaging his chakra coils and taking away his future as a Shinobi was better than damaging her relationship with her son and tearing the family apart.

But the die had been cast, and there was nothing left for her to do but regret.

More sobs shook her frame; her body exhausted both mentally and physically. A nap would probably help her right not, the sweet, ignorant bliss of nothingness could do her wonders. Her body was in favor of such an option, but her heart and mind were of a different opinion.

As soon as her eyes began to droop, two pools of frozen amethyst glared at her accusingly.

' _Just going to cry yourself to sleep, are you? I can only imagine how many times he did that wondering where his family had gone.'_ The words were not in his voice, but neither was it entirely hers. A mixture of both her voice and the voice of her son spoke with a mouth of razors, each lash of his tongue tearing away at her heart. But, it was right. Naruto must have spent countless nights just as she was now and yet had found some way to continue on for four years.

' _Look at you, you're pitiful.'_ The voice spat. _'You have no right to pity yourself for your own mistakes. You deserve this pain, he doesn't.'_

The words, though harsh, worked to drain her reservoir of tears and soon enough her crying came to an end. Lifting herself up on shaky arms, she headed to her room. Her son had suffered because of her and that was the bottom line. If she wanted to be able to help him then she needed to get herself together.

The shower she took stretched far longer than it should have and she broke down twice under the steaming water but knowing that her son was depending on her to set things right managed to stop her tears both times. By the time she left her room dressed in sweatpants and a loose robe the sun had begun burning deep orange across the darkening sky.

As she sat at her kitchen table, a warm mug of tea in her hands, and watched the sun vanish behind the horizon she came to the simple understanding that would be able to drive her forward.

' _Tomorrow is a new day, another chance for me to make things right.'_ It brought a comforting warmth to think that, to realize that there was still hope yet to be had. _'And if I can't make them right tomorrow then I'll try the next day, and every day after that, until I have.'_

It was a far more relaxed Kushina that retired to bed that evening, one who slipped instantly into dreams of a full, happy family. The soft smile that stretched her lips for the entirety of the night was beautiful.

But there was no one for her to share it with.

* * *

It was still odd for her to know that she always had at least one person following her at all times. She was well aware that the Hyuuga guards around the compound would see her during 'patrols' but that was different. The Hyuuga members simply saw her as they did quick scans of the grounds. Her shadows, however, were always present, always watching her and ensuring her safety. It was a miracle they had not been caught by the guards yet.

Kaien had mentioned that it was because they were "just that good", but his smartass comment was quickly dismissed after Kotomi explained that they were aided by seals. It wouldn't survive intense scrutiny but it would suffice to allow them to escape the brief gaze of the Hyuuga guards.

And really, that's all they needed. So long as people didn't know they were there they didn't look and so long as they didn't look they wouldn't be found. It worked well enough. For now, at least.

Hinata was startled out of her thoughts as a door opened close by, a face peering out to confirm her identity.

"Hinata-Sama, we would like to speak with you." The first thing she did was activate her Byakugan, only to be greeted by nothing. That was rather unsettling. By his words there was at least one other person present but she couldn't see what might be going on inside. There were not many of these rooms within the compound, rooms that could give complete privacy. No one could remember how they had done it originally and even the elders didn't seem to know as their homes remained easily seen.

It's why the Hyuuga always acted in such a former manner. When people can look into your life while you're doing absolutely anything without warning or indication, you needed to conduct yourself in the best manner possible.

It was for that reason that rooms such as this were so coveted. Now there were only two major questions; how did this person, obviously a branch member by the band wrapped around his head, manage to get ahold of this room for any length of time and why did they want her to enter it?

Giving a nod to the man, he stepped back, which allowed one of her guards to slip into the room for a quick scout. Entering with due hesitance but slightly reassured by the fact that nothing seemed to have happened to the Wolf, Hinata was greeted to a sight she could not make sense of.

Dozens upon dozens of branch clan members of varying ages had crammed into the room. Torches provided plenty of light but also plenty of shadows amongst the rooms occupants, making it nearly impossible to identify anyone present. There was a split in the crowd, allowing one to get to the other side. She had no doubt that her guard had been forced to move down to the end of the room in order to avoid being discovered, but it was what she saw at the end of the room that had her most puzzled.

There was a picture, a portrait, but it was of _**her**_.

Why would this picture be there, where had they gotten it, and what did this have to do with her?

"This way, Hinata-Sama." The door was shut behind her, two members moving to guard it, as the one who let her in ushered her through the crowd and to the picture of herself. The closer she got, however, the more she began to think this picture wasn't of her, but of her mother. That made a bit more sense, both because there were likely to be a lot of pictures of her mother and because the branch members had been very fond of her.

When they had reached the end of the room she felt her hidden guard placed a comforting hand on her arm to ensure she was aware of their presence and she was fairly certain that her other guard had moved to ensure she was flanked on both sides in case anything should happen.

The one to escort her in stepped away and merged back into the crown as an elderly man was helped by a young woman to the front.

"Hinata-Sama," His bow nearly took him to the floor and the young woman at his side did her best to ensure he did not collapse. "Fate has spoken for you who will not be branded; truly it is you who is destined to lead the Hyuuga."

This was a slight surprise, but not entirely shocking. While she had never believed in fate, as both her parents thought it was rubbish, most of the clan had held faith in the mystical power of fate for longer than their history could remember. Even so, she had not expected them to take meaning in the fact that Naruto had been able to aid her with the seal.

Of course, that made things just a bit more clear. With the majority of the clan believing in fate any event was said to have been decreed by such. For her to be kicked out of the head family and yet uncontrolled by the seal of the branch family must have seemed some sort of miracle. If they thought she was fated to lead, however, it left her at a loss to what they were trying to do. Going against the main family was a foolish idea, unless they somehow thought she could free them of the seal.

To be an instrument of fate amongst the Hyuuga, just the idea sent a shiver down her spine. Things were already weird but she had a dreadful feeling that this was only the start.

"There are those who cannot see this," He continued. "But we know the truth."

Falling to his knees, much to the dismay of the woman who had been helping him stand, he prostrated himself at her feet. Everyone else in the room quickly followed suit, bowing upon the floor before her.

More than a little nervous and beyond confused, Hinata look around the room for help that would not be found.

"We gaze upon you, with the eyes of our blood, so that we may witness the true sight of fate's chosen- Hinata no Mikoto!"

The meaning behind his words was not so alarming as the gasps that rang throughout the room as each person present activated their Byakugan. She could pray that the gasp might not mean what she thought it did, but she knew her guards had been discovered. Perhaps the three of them would be fortunate enough to make it outside the room before people could get to their feet.

Almost as one, chakra was pulsed, dispelling the Genjutsu that had allowed her Wolves to sneak into the room with her. Even as the illusion upon them melted off her guards moved to stand before her, hands touching upon their Tanto.

It was the elderly man who ended up deciding the reaction of the room to these intruders.

"Behold!" He proclaimed. "Our goddess is protected by wolves!"

Taking a long look at her before sharing a look between themselves, the two Wolves turned to face her and dropped to one knee.

Still completely out of her element, Hinata gazed around helplessly. She could really use some of Naruto's guidance right about now.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't here.

* * *

 **Until the next showing, I bid you all farewell.**


	19. Started So Well

**Like I said last chapter, this one is mostly filler to prepare for the 10k word chapter next week. I am, however, quite pleased with it.**

 **Thanks, as you all should know, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **I'm pretty sure I had other things I wanted to say, but for the life of me I can't remember them. Naturally, they should return the second I post the chapter.**

 **And with that said, let's start the chapter.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Pen against paper scratched through the room, each stroke leaving dark paths of ink. His eyes followed the path almost absentmindedly, a vain attempt to ignore the presence in his office. The meeting was in an hour, if he could just avoid this for an hour he might not have to deal with it.

Of course, that was a foolish dream and they both knew it.

"How did it go?" His voice interrupted the song of his pen as he continued to work, not once turning to look at his guest. He didn't need to turn his chair around to know Kakashi lounged in the windowsill, casting him looks of disappointment. It would seem things hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped they might.

"Oh, you know, no real point in testing them when I can't fail them." The voice was rather bored as it answered, but both knew that hadn't been the question.

"He didn't respond well, I take it?" He had been afraid of that. It was a risk, he knew, especially when he had little information, but it was one he was sincerely hoping would pay off for all those involved. He should have expected things to go wrong, everything he did went sour when it came to the young man.

"He responded very well, actually." Hiruzen could hear the turning of a page, no doubt the work of his old student. "Or, he did in my opinion. Cut her down immediately."

In alarm, the aged Kage spun around to look at the student of the Yondaime.

"He cut her down?!" The man only shrugged in response.

"Verbally, anyway. It was pretty satisfying, though I wouldn't have minded a bit of bloodshed."

Hiruzen released a relieved sigh. The last thing he wanted to hear was that Naruto had gotten into a fight with his mother, especially one that ended in death.

"So he didn't like the idea of being apprenticed to her? I thought he'd like not having teammates so that he could go about things at his own pace."

"Who knows?" Kakashi shrugged again. "She never got the chance to bring it up."

"Really?" It was obvious from that alone that he was not too keen on interacting with his former family. Kushina should have at least had the chance to tell him of the proposed apprenticeship, he could only imagine how pissed the young man would be at the moment thinking that he was purely on the reserves.

He'd have to find a different arrangement, the talent Naruto had couldn't be wasted waiting around for an opening in a team. Maybe he could find someone else to apprentice him under, or at least a mentor who could take him on missions every so often. Hell, paying a Chuunin team to take him on missions wasn't a bad idea either, and Naruto never had to know he was behind it.

Naruto would benefit, he would have been able to help the boy, and the village would have yet another skilled Shinobi in its ranks. Everybody would win. Well, everyone save Kushina, but she could, at the very least, be comforted by the fact that he was doing well for himself.

He had to hold back a snort at that one. Kushina would never look at it that way, only that he had refused to work with her. Then again, he hadn't refused as it was never offered. He had to at least give the two of them a chance. If the boy said no, so be it, but at least he had the option.

He'd probably need to be the one to bring it up, though. Kushina hadn't been given the chance to mention it but he knew Naruto would let him talk for the sole reason that he was the Hokage. If he were to have Kushina present when he called for Naruto he would also be able to see how the two of them interacted after four years apart. That alone could show this to have been a bad idea and allow him to better decide how to deal with Naruto's teamlessness.

He wanted Naruto and Kushina to work together in order to repair their relationship, of course, but he wasn't going to force something like that if it only served to make things worse. Before anything else, he was Hokage. It was his duty to make sure Konoha and her occupants remained safe. If it meant not trying to restore the bond between mother and child so that he might have two Ninja ready to serve, so be it.

Hell, even one able and willing to serve and protect was better than having them both too caught up in their own problems to aid the village they swore themselves to.

"Really." Kakashi's voice broke him out of his musings. "He's a swift one, you know. He wasted no time in cutting her down with his words. I thought it was pretty well done, but that might just be because he knew her well enough to know what to say." He gave yet another shrug. "Then again, I'm pretty biased myself, so maybe it wasn't so great."

"I see, and how did he seem to feel about not being placed on a standard team?"

"Well, he seemed pretty pissed even before seeing Kushina, but I have to admit there was only a brief moment for me to look."

"Oh?"

"Kushina was right outside the doors waiting, so once he stepped out he saw her. Naruko wasn't far behind him though, so I think it's safe to assume he stormed out and she gave chance."

"Damn." Hiruzen gave a sigh. "I was hoping this was a chance to start fixing things."

There was silence for a few moments, neither man having much more to say.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama?"

"I know you said quickly, but he did tell her about what's happened, didn't he?" The Sandaime questioned.

"Nope, not a word." Kakashi paused. "Well, now that I think about it, I suppose he hinted at one event, but I'm not sure that was even intentional."

"Which event?"

"He told her he wasn't her son."

"It's true, in a way." Hiruzen shook his head sadly. Why did those with Uzumaki blood always cause such problems for those around them? And with two of them having problems with each other, this could very easily become a nightmare.

Worse still was that Kushina hadn't the slightest idea what had happened in her absence. Someone would eventually have to tell her, or she would somehow piece it together, but neither option was good for anybody. If no one told her, she'd be angry with everyone, but he wouldn't wish the task of telling her on his enemies.

He could, however, wish that that task wouldn't fall to him.

"What are the chances of Naruto accepting an apprenticeship?"

"With Kushina?"

"Yes, with Kushina."

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Probably about the same as him accepting one with the Yondaime"

"The Yondaime is dead, Kakashi, as you well know."

"That was kind of the point, Hokage-Sama."

He'd been sighing a lot, he realized as he let out another long breath. Not for the first time he wished he had been the one to perform the sealing of the Kyuubi no Kitsune all those years ago. This was beginning to be too much for him these days. If he was fortunate he'd be able to enjoy a few years of a second retirement, but at this rate heart or lung disease seemed far more likely. With his current luck, he'd still be Kage as he lay on his deathbed.

"We have a rather large mess on our hands, don't we Kakashi?"

"No, you have a rather large mess on your hands. The only things I need to worry about are training three brats and paying my rent."

Another sigh escaped Hiruzen's lips.

It must have been nice to be Kakashi.

* * *

She skipped down the halls, eager to retreat into her personal chambers, and paid no mind to the way her cloak trailed behind her and exposed what little clothing she wore underneath. A pair of black shorts hugged her lower body, reminiscent of the pants she had been in when she arrived here in Ame, and her chest was covered in no more than a bra.

Around the outskirts of the village it might be nice and cool, but Mikoto found that here in the center it was quite hot. That heat and the constant moisture made for a rather unpleasant combination. Some of the others might have been unphased by the muggy atmosphere, or, at least, not shown if they were, but she was of the opinion that the Jashinist had the right idea going shirtless.

Naturally, she ignored the fact that he always went shirtless, mostly because he went through them so damn fast.

And it wasn't as if anyone could tell what was under her cloak normally anyway. For all they knew Pein could be standing there in the buff and be getting a raging boner every time he called himself a god. That man had some serious problems.

Then again, most of them did. One did not become an S-class Shinobi without accumulating a few issues.

Luckily, she could not yet call herself S-class and wasn't aware of any problems she might have. Of course, one must then wonder if any of the S-class Shinobi knew they had issues or if they thought themselves perfectly normal. Now that was a scary thought.

Shaking it from her head, she continued to skip her to her room. She would much rather have walked, both because it was the proper thing to do and would have ensured no one could get a glimpse of her shirtlessness, but with another meeting having let out and everyone currently behind her she couldn't be behaving in any manner that might seem out of character.

Fortunately she knew for a fact that they were all behind her, or, at the very least, not before her, which meant the most they would see would be a little extra leg. They could use that in whatever little fantasies played out in their heads. She had seen the looks, naturally, and she couldn't blame them. She might go about in a mask, but the only other woman in the organization was Konan who, while attractive, no one really wanted to try.

It was not hard to see that Pein favored his angel, messing with her- whom they all were pretty sure had a thing for their leader- would bring about his wrath. S-rank they may be, but not one of them felt like testing themselves against the fabled Rinnegan. Well, Hidan might, but he didn't have a very good sense of danger, being immortal and all.

She had talked with all the members a few times during her stay, such was inevitable during a period extending over a year, but her childlike act seemed to put off most of those who might otherwise try something. Deidara seemed to think it cute, Kisame seemed to care little past the fact that she was female, and, much to her own disgust, Itachi appeared to be interested.

She knew he had no idea who she really was, but that didn't do anything to make her feel better about it.

Hopefully that interest would pass in time because she really didn't want to have to deal with her son trying to get with her or risk blowing her cover trying to prevent it.

Maybe she could convince Zetsu to pretend they were in a relationship?

No, that was a terrible idea.

But she could probably pay Kakuzu.

* * *

Part of her argued that she couldn't hide forever.

Another part reminded her that she managed to run away for over a decade.

She hadn't had an angry Uzumaki mother after her the last time, though, in fact, there hadn't been anyone after her at all. It would be nice to go back to those carefree days of drinking and gambling. Shizune, however, probably appreciated not having to live such a lifestyle anymore. She may have been young but she really wasn't the type to enjoy living on the run. Bursts of excitement? Of course, but a never-ending chase during which you have to care for an inebriated Sannin? No, she was probably rather relieved that the two of them had stopped.

Of course, now she seemed pretty restless. Poor girl.

' _Poor girl? At least she doesn't have Uzumaki Kushina after blood.'_

Well, she didn't either, but Tsunade wasn't confident in that lasting long. Sooner or later Kushina would learn everything and she had no doubt that she would rise to the top of the woman's shit list.

Lucky her.

She had no real right to be feeling self-pity, having brought this upon herself, but it was nice to distract herself from the crushing guilt by focusing solely upon the problems and ignoring the fact that she was the cause. Unfortunately, that did little to solve her problems.

In fact there was little- if anything- that could solve her problems at this point. She had been here for four years- **Four years** – and yet hadn't even seen the reason she had returned. It didn't matter what excuses she tried to comfort herself with, it was unacceptable and that was the bottom line.

It was worse than that, she knew, because her inaction didn't just affect her godson but his entire family. Her goddaughter Naruko and the woman she often thought of as a daughter Uzumaki Kushina had both relied on her for updates on Naruto's wellbeing in the hopes that they might be able to return home to him.

She had failed them all.

And she had failed herself.

It was a pity that she hadn't realized that this was an opportunity to turn her life around sooner. She had been scared, naturally, of becoming attached, but that was probably exactly what she needed. Shizune probably wouldn't be around much longer and once she left Tsunade would have nothing left. But, had she simply allowed herself to take care of the boy, even risking the chance that he too might be torn from her, then she would at least have something left in this world.

Then again, maybe she did.

It might not be a person or possession, but could it be what she needed to keep her going?

Could she continue purely for the sake of atonement?

She might not be able to make things right, but surely she could spend the rest of her life trying.

Right?

A slight laugh escaped her lips.

What did she really have to lose?

She'd have to start with the reason she was brought here in the first place, it was all she really had to work with at this point. Naruto didn't even know that she was his godmother so anything dealing with that could be left for later. The medical side could help on both fronts, aiding her with Naruto and Kushina, and it would only take being in the good graces of one of them to get a solid foundation to start making things better.

It would be better for her to get on Naruto's good side to help her with Kushina, but she couldn't deny the benefit of pacifying Kushina and working with her to get the both of them back into his life. She might not have done right by him while she was here, but even she knew he wouldn't be too happy with Kushina after her unannounced departure from his life.

Either way, she was going to have to start with Naruto's health.

Grinning for the first time in days, she began clearing Sake bottles off her desk.

"Shizune!"

Maybe, just maybe, she could make things right after all.

* * *

"Shizune!" Startled as the quiet of the house gave way to the voice of her master, Shizune found herself wondering what could have made the Sannin call for her.

After marking her place in her book and setting it back down on the coffeetable quick strides brought her to her baster's bedroom in a scant few moments. Oddly enough, it was empty. Peering down the hall revealed the door to the study ajar. It was rather curious, as her master had already gone through all the Sake in the regular stores days ago.

The Study had been the first place she had cleared out looking for more.

The room had been quickly scoured and drained of her master's favorite vice before she moved to the other rooms of the house. Surely there hadn't been _more_?

Then again, this was the Senju compound; it was actually more likely than she'd like to think.

"Yes, Tsunade-Sama?" She called upon reaching the door. No sooner than the words had been spoken the door was pulled open, allowing her to see her master for the first time in several days. Considering the mood she had been in for the past few weeks, and even the lethargically drunk state she had been in for the past few years, the broad smile she now wore was beyond concerning.

"Shizune!" The cry was almost joyful and she had to wonder for a moment if her master had turned to drugs in the absence of alcohol. "Brilliant, just the girl I needed to see!"

"Erm, Tsunade-Sama, are you alright?" When she was immediately swept into a crushing hug, Shizune knew that her master most certainly not alright. Tsunade never gave hugs. Never.

"I've never been better, Shizune, never been better!"

"Ah, okay." She'd just have to wait for whatever was in her master's system to leave before trying to get to the bottom of this. "So, what did you need?"

She was released instantly as Tsunade rushed back into the study and began pulling medical books from the shelves.

"I need you to get me everything you can on Uzumaki Naruto."

"Everything?"

"Everything!" A large stack of books was piled atop the sturdy wooden desk and her master turned back to look at her. "I want medical records, arrest records, every report from Gennin to ANBU that even mentions him, everything!" ANBU reports? That was a ridiculous request; there was no way she could get her hands on those. Of course, she wasn't going to even try bringing that up right now, Tsunade was already acting far too strange.

"Alright, but, why?" The smile she was given in response was blinding and Shizune could have sworn her eyes were filled with hope.

"Because I'm going to make things right."

Shizune had no idea what was going on at the moment but, as weird as it was, she decided to enjoy it while it lasted.

After all, whatever was causing this would end soon enough-

It always did.

* * *

She let out a relieved sigh when she finally made it to the safety of her room. Closing the door behind her and leaning against it for support, she wondered how she could have ended up in such a situation.

Hinata no Mikoto? Really?

It was absolutely preposterous but, worse, they seemed to truly believe it!

She was not some sort of goddess, far from it. If it hadn't been for Naruto's help she'd be nothing more than a slave at the moment. Naruto's help, admittedly, is also what seemed to have landed her in this mess.

If she was fortunate, he could also help her out of it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door and with an embarrassed blush she quickly turned to open it, granting access to her guards. So caught up was she in her new problems that she forgot they would have been following her.

The Genjutsu they used to keep out of sight wavered and vanished as they took up positions in her room. There was no reason to be invisible in the safety of her quarters as few would dare use the Byakugan within the compound let alone to peer into the room belonging to the daughter of their head, branch or not.

Even if they did, however, they would not show up clearly. It wasn't perfect, but Naruto had mentioned some sort of seal that kept the Byakugan from working properly. It would see them, of course, but it would be hard to recognize them unless someone really looked hard. It also helped that their uniforms, curtesy of the Yamanaka treasury, were chakra insulated, which would muffle their chakra signature and retain any chakra that might leak off of them.

It wasn't cheap and her four guards were the only Wolves to wear such gear but there really wasn't any option when it came to guarding her from within the Hyuuga clan compound. Of course, knowing this, she felt somewhat hesitant to request more aid.

Unless…

She frowned in thought. Could- could he actually use this? Would this be to his advantage?

Though it seemed almost too good to be true, she couldn't shake the feeling that with this she might be able to aid him for a change. She'd need his guidance, of course, but if he could help her with this situation and benefit from the arrangement then she knew that the least she could do was inform him of the recent events and inquire to any steps he wanted taken in relation to this development.

Grabbing a piece of paper from her desk, she quickly wrote down all the important details she could think of in regards to the situation. Confidence momentarily boosted by the thought of being of use to the young man who had been looking out for her, she signed both the note and the envelope she placed in into with _'Hinata no Mikoto'._ That, if nothing else, was sure to get his attention.

Knowing exactly what she was up to, one of the Wolves took hold of the envelope and, with an approving nod at her decision to report this to Naruto, they quickly took off.

Hopefully Naruto would be as pleased with her actions as the Wolf had been.

And maybe, just maybe, he would be proud of her.

It was with a smile that she went to bed that night.

* * *

He woke in a familiar bed, within a familiar room, with a rather unfamiliar weight pressed against his right side. Managing to lift himself onto his elbows, her brought his left hand up to rub the sleep out of his eyes and was almost pulled back onto the bed.

A quick look down showed a very sleepy, very clingy Mitarashi Anko.

Shaking his head at the sight, he managed to extract himself from her arms. She seemed to have no preference between him and his pillow and wasted no time trying to crush it in her grip as she slept.

For a woman nearing full Jounin rank she really was quite childlike.

Idly puzzling over his shirtlessness- he didn't remember taking that off last night- he went about getting ready for the day. Hinata's letter had been waiting for him when he returned with the girls after dinner and he wanted to be able to speak to her about the situation in person as quickly as possible. Of course, she would probably be meeting with her team for their first training session but he was sure he could manage to steal her away for a few moments.

Seeing as it was Kurenai who had been assigned her Jounin instructor it likely wouldn't be any trouble at all.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later and Anko was still trying to kill his poor pillow. Picking up her discarded coat and skirt from the floor, he placed them neatly at the end of the bed before retrieving his cloak and blade from his closet. Thinking better of it, his cloak went back in. He could probably get some training in, perhaps even a few practice spars with Yugao, after talking with Hinata. It would a pity to lose or damage his cloak.

He knew it was intended to be worn but he couldn't help the attachment he felt to it. Even if he didn't know who had sent it, it had been their first gift to him and he was rather fond of it. He would much rather it be damaged or destroyed on a memorable mission than training here in Konoha.

Closing his closet door as gently as possible not to wake his guest, he quickly left the room only to find that his guests numbered two. Curled up on his couch, Mai seemed more comfortable than Anko had. Then again, that could be because Mai tried to remain as reserved as possible throughout the day, something she couldn't do while sleeping.

Turning back to his room for a spare blanket, he realized quickly that the Tokubetsu Jounin wasn't about to surrender any of them without a fight. Giving a sigh and knowing he had no more blankets, he grabbed his cloak and brought it out to the main room, carefully draping it over the shoulders of his most loyal subordinate.

She relaxed further under its warmth and he couldn't restrain the curving of his lips. She really seemed like a different person while sleeping.

He was about to head to the kitchen for a quick breakfast when a knock sounded at his door. Knowing that the Wolves prowling around the apartment building wouldn't have let the person get this far if they were hostile –and knowing that if his Wolves had been dispatched he really didn't have much of a chance anyway- he cracked open his front door to be greeted by the porcelain face of an ANBU agent.

Presumed identity known and a hand on Mōryō's Tooth, he opened the door enough for his entire head to be properly seen.

"Can I help you, ANBU-San?"

"My apologies for coming so early, but Hokage-Sama would like to see you in his office, preferably before team meetings take place."

"I see, did he say why?" The ANBU shook his head.

"I'm afraid not."

Giving a sigh- and a longing look back to his kitchen- he gave a nod to the Shinobi outside his door.

"Very well, let him know I'll leave immediately but I'll be stopping for something to eat along the way."

"Of course, I'll pass it along. I bid you a pleasant day, Naruto-San." And with that he was gone.

Giving one last look inside his apartment, he shook his head and walked into the morning streets of Konoha.

It had started so well, couldn't that have lasted until lunch?

* * *

It wasn't long after the apartment's owner had left that she found herself knocking on the door. When no one answered she tried once more and when that failed she looked about for permission. Atop a nearby building a porcelain wolf peered down at her. Giving a quick nod, it vanished again.

Taking that as a go ahead and knowing that she would be stopped if she wasn't allowed to enter, she turned the handle and entered the apartment. Giving a grin when she spotted the sleeping young woman on the couch, her lips quickly turned downwards.

Anko hadn't been in her apartment, which was odd considering she rarely woke before eight, and that made here the next likely place, having come from her own home. But if she hadn't crashed on his couch, she couldn't have, could she?

Poking her head into the bedroom she located her friend holding tightly to a pillow and wrapped tightly in a mess of blankets. That was Anko alright.

She gave a brief look to the clothing at the end of the bed with a frown before turning to look at a clock. It was barely past six and she had told her team to meet her at nine. That gave her a good two and a half hours before she needed to leave with rather generous travel time for a Kunoichi of her caliber.

Deciding that she could let her friend sleep in a bit more- six was pretty early, especially for Anko- she left the room and made her way to the small kitchen. Her original intention had been to sit at the table while she waited but she quickly found herself cooking breakfast.

Not only did it give her something to do but with any luck it would wake up Anko. There were only two things that could get Anko awake before seven; sex and food. Only one of those would get her out of bed. Seeing as she had no intention of crawling into bed with the woman –with an added note that the bed didn't belong to either of them but rather a freshly graduated Gennin- she decided to make some food.

Of course, she'd have to reimburse Naruto later. Maybe she could invite him and Anko over for a dinner at her place one of these days. If they worked together they might even be able to have Anko host the next meal. She gave a slight giggle at the thought. Anko was a terrible cook; they would be better off just ordering something to go and eating it on her couch.

Kurenai couldn't even count the number of times the two of them had done just that.

It wasn't much longer that someone else stumbled into the kitchen. Unfortunately, it wasn't anko.

"H-have you seen Naruto-Sama?" Though faint, there was an evident blush on the girl's face as she delicately held the boy's cloak. Kurenai thought it was adorable.

"No, he wasn't here when I came in. Would you like some breakfast?"

"N-no, thank you I really need to be going. Could you thank Naruto-Sama for me if you see him?"

Kurenai raised a brow.

"Thank him for what?"

"Last night-" The poor girl froze in shock and covered her mouth immediately, her face burning red.

"Last night, huh?" Kurenai gave a slight smirk at the embarrassed girl.

"I mean, um-" Kurenai waved off her explanation.

"Don't worry, I'll thank him for you. Must have been a hell of a night though, Anko's clothes were scattered all over the room."

An even brighter blush covered her face as she quickly escaped the kitchen. Moments later the door opened and shut, leaving Kurenai and a sleeping Anko in the apartment.

' _Cute girl, I should tease her more often.'_ Of course she was familiar with Mai, having seen her several times over the past year, but she hadn't really exchanged words with her before now. There were greetings and wishes of good days, but they tended to cross paths only when one of them was leaving.

She'd have to put a bit more effort into interacting with her from now on, that had been fun.

* * *

Other than a quick stop into a bakery that had fortunately been open, Naruto's walk to the Hokage tower was uneventful. His purchase washed down by a drink from the vending machine at the bottom of the counter, he ascended the steps quickly, ready to deal with whatever the Sandaime had for him.

Of course, he didn't necessarily expect what greeted him.

It was a familiar image to many, the Sandaime reclining behind his desk with a pipe in hand, but there was one noticeable difference in this particular occurrence of a well-known scene.

Standing by his desk, bright red hair falling down her back, stood Uzumaki Kushina.

And she was smiling.

* * *

 **And that's chapter XIX. See you all next week for act XX.**


	20. Isn't Lunch Yet

**So was being difficult over the past week and wouldn't let me to respond to some reviews until Thursday. I think I replied to them all but my apologies if I missed you. if you send me a PM I'll go find your review and give you a response.**

 **ncpfan is the reason I've gotten so far with this story, so thanks goes to him for his help.**

 **I had a lot more scenes planned for this chapter because it's ten thousand words long but, like most of my plans, things didn't quite work out. I blame this mainly on the fact that the last scene in this chapter was supposed to be 1500 words but ended up being over 5000, which is an entire standard chapter. Luckily, I can recycle my planned scenes for next chapter which means I don't have to plan them out for next week.**

 **Also, because my cliffhanger wasn't evil enough, the starting scene in this chapter doesn't continue it.**

 **Kukukukukuku**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

It wasn't long after she had finished cooking that the smell of food had managed to drag Anko from her slumber. The purple haired Tokubetsu Jounin was half asleep as she shuffled into the kitchen with a yawn wearing no more than she had worn to bed the previous night.

Kurenai had seen the clothes at the end of the bed but seeing her best friend dressed in nothing but undergarments and a fishnet top drove it home and brought a frown to her face. Naruto had only recently turned twelve, sharing a bed with him half-dressed was inappropriate for the twenty two year old and Anko should have known that.

Admittedly, Kurenai was slightly jealous of her friend. Not because she had shared Naruto's bed, but because the woman was seemed so close and comfortable around the young man. She had gotten better ever since she and Naruto started over but she still had a long way to go before she felt she'd be able to do something so simple as giving him a hug.

' _I'll just have to ask that Anko make up for my lack of hugs with some of her own.'_

As it was, she still had some difficulty being alone in a room with him. Luckily, the presence of others, such as Anko, made it possible for her to interact with him. She scowled slightly at the thought. It had taken her a long time to be able to deal with the presence of men and then Naruto had to show up and turn everything upside down.

Well, that wasn't true. His father had done it before him and she both loved and hated the man for the way his presence always kept her on edge. Of course, he had been Namikaze Minato and more that capable of taking care of himself when he pushed her instincts too far. His son, on the other hand, had always seemed so vulnerable and it was a constant battle between wanting to be the one who protected him when he was younger and the knowledge that she was just as much a threat to him so long as her instincts believed him to be one to her.

It was a ridiculous notion, she was well aware, that he might be a threat to her, but her body didn't care about rational thought. The boy put her on edge, just like his father before him, and her body fought to react each time. It was a miracle that she had always done so well to restrain herself after not having to worry about it with Minato.

Miracle or not, it was becoming easier each day. It may have been because she was getting used to having her nerves so tightly wound when around him or because he seemed more and more capable of defending himself should she slip or even a combination of both, but the important thing was that she was getting better.

Who knows? Maybe she'd have a chance to be the sister she had always wanted to be for him before he finished growing into a man. The thought of him becoming a man lead to her picturing what he might look light in a few years and, if he became anything like she was imagining, she really couldn't blame Anko if she was trying to stake a claim early.

She could, however, be disappointed in her friend's decision to start this early. Surely she could have waited until at least Chuunin. No one would have batted an eye, regardless of age. One might be accepted as an adult legally upon graduation but no one considered you one until you hit Chuunin. After all, anyone who can earn the rank of Chuunin has lost the right to call themselves a child. It was simply impossible to mix the two.

"Smells good." The voice of her friend broke her out of her thoughts.

"I would hope so, I'd feel bad using up Naruto's food just to be forced to throw it away."

Anko waved her off and took a seat.

"Don't worry about it, he would have expected me to help myself. Whether or not the food actually ended up being eaten is irrelevant when he knows it will be gone." Kurenai frowned at that, she hated wasting food, but it showed just how comfortable the two of them seemed to be around each other.

"So, other than cooking breakfast for me, was there any reason you came over?"

"You make it sound like this is your house, Anko." The Tokubetsu Jounin just gave a shrug as she filled her plate and took a bite.

"It could be. I spend enough time here already and it's not like it would be hard for me to convince him to let me move in and live rent free."

"And how do you plan on convincing him, showing a bit more skin?" She looked pointedly at Anko's attire and the woman quickly caught on.

"Ah, yeah, forgot about that." She had, at least, the decency to blush. "I should probably consider keeping a few changes of clothes here or at least something to sleep in."

"I'll say. You realize you were in bed with a twelve year old in that, right?" Anko raised a brow.

"What of it?"

Kurenai had to shake her head. It was easy to forget that Anko had been trained- and practically raised- by Orochimaru of the Sannin. Her sense of morals tended to be slightly askew of the boundaries generally accepted.

"I think you have enough trouble with the Konoha populace, do you really need to give them a valid reason to be against you?"

"A valid reason? Like what?"

"Like being a pedophile." Anko blanched.

"Is that how you're seeing this?" She asked, tilting her head. "I thought I was crashing at a friend's."

"Your 'friend' is twelve years old, you're in your twenties. It might have seemed better if you spent the night on the couch, but those outside the apartment would have known the difference."

"Pfft, like I give a shit about what they think. Naruto knows what's going on, I know what's going on, and you know what's going on. Beyond that, why should I be worried?"

At Kurenai's uncomfortable look Anko frowned, crossing her arms over her mesh top.

"You do know that nothing like that has happened, don't you?"

"Well-"

"Well nothing, Kurenai!" Came Anko's indignant shout. "I thought you knew me better than that! You really think I'm about to put the moves on a twelve year old boy?!"

"What am I supposed to think?! Not only did you spend the night here but you slept in his bed, quite likely with him, wearing almost nothing! Even if you aren't a pedophile you're going to look like a sex offender!"

Anko scowled.

"By you, apparently, you're the only one to know."

"You know people will find out soon enough if you keep it up, you aren't exactly trying to be secretive about the fact that this is practically your second home."

"So what? I'll consider him a close friend regardless of the acceptance of anyone else."

"That's not the point-"

"No," Interrupted Anko. "The point is that you can't accept the fact that I slept in the same bed as someone else and are jumping to conclusions."

"And what conclusions am I jumping to? Everything seems pretty clear to me."

"And that's your problem, it seems clear but you don't really have any idea what's happening."

Silence settled over the house as minutes ticked by. It was Kurenai who broke it.

"Tell me then, what happened?" She asked softly.

"We went out to dinner," Before Kurenai could make any sort of comment she continued. "The three of us. Naruto treated. It was late by the time we got back and I didn't feel like going back home. Naruto offered to let us stay the night and we took him up on it.

"He had intended to take the couch at first but Mai wouldn't have it. I don't know what their relationship is, but she treats him as if he's her superior and refused to kick him out of his own bed. Naturally, that would have led to the two of them sharing a bed, but I didn't want to sleep on the couch.

"Mai was only concerned about Naruto getting to sleep in his own bed so when I said I'd be joining him she decided to take the couch. I would like it noted that I invited her into the bed. It would have been a little crowded but I'm sure he wouldn't have minded."

"I see." Kurenai remained silent for a few moments after speaking before resuming.

"So it was originally going to be you and Mai who I found in his room then. I'm sorry, but knowing you had been sharing a bed with him wearing so little…"

Anko gave a sigh.

"You've mentioned wanting to be a sister to him before, so I guess I can understand where you're coming from, but even if we were doing something like that what would it matter? He's an adult, I'm an adult, we can make our own decisions. You might see him as the young boy born to your mother, but I see him as the young man who set me free of Orochimaru's Ten no Juin."

"Hell," Anko shot her friend a giant grin. "If he was a few years older you know I probably would have dropped my panties right there in the training ground in thanks."

"Anko!"

"Kidding, kidding." Anko waved her off. "But, seriously, if he asks something of me, anything, I'm likely to do it. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it is to be free from that seal and I owe it to him. I'm not about to go and make the first move, but I certainly wouldn't turn him away if he made advances."

"He's twelve!"

Anko shrugged.

"I guess that just means it might be a while before he tries anything. Though, as a young teenage boy, he might ask to see my boobs." She thought for a moment. "That would be a normal thing for them, wouldn't it?"

"Erm, I guess..?"

"No," Anko shook her head with a frown. "If it's a normal thing to do he isn't likely to do it. What are they unlikely to do?"

"Have meaningful conversation? Where are you going with this Anko?"

"Nowhere, just trying to predict what he might ask of me."

"The chances of him asking seem pretty slim, he's never relied too much on others and I hear that declined further after Kushina's departure."

"Doesn't mean he won't want something. As it is I've offered to take him on some missions in my free time, but he hasn't asked for training or anything. Hell, do you know the information I could probably get to him?"

"Anko, that's treason!"

"It's not like it's happened. Well, yet. I won't make any promises."

Shaking her head, Kurenai sighed before freezing.

"What do you mean take him on missions? Gennin can't go on missions above D-rank without their team."

"Naruto doesn't have a team, he's on the reserves. They didn't have enough graduates this year."

"But why him?"

"Probably something to do with the fact that he's not part of a clan anymore." She shrugged again. "I doubt they were going to try to stop one of the clan heirs from being placed in a team. It would have been a nightmare. Then again, it could have nothing to do with that, maybe the old man has something else in mind for Naruto."

"I suppose that could be the case but speaking of teams, there was a reason I was looking for you."

"Oh?"

"I wanted to see if you'd be willing to help me with training mine. If they were clanless it would be a bit easier but as it is they have all trained to use only clan techniques and it's going to take a while to round them out more."

"I suppose so, but why would you find me to ask? We were going to meet with the other Jounin in a few days anyway."

"I'd like to start today, if that isn't too much trouble, and I didn't want the others to know I had help. I'm the rookie, after all, so I could expect a ribbing for not being able to handle it."

Anko gave a snort of amusement.

"Just think of it this way, one rookie Jounin plus one Tokubetsu Jounin equal one regular Jounin."

"I don't think they'd buy that, Anko."

"No, but they'd look stupid trying to argue against it."

Kurenai had to admit she was right about that.

"Likely. Anko, there was one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you."

"Eh? I know I'm awesome, but you don't have to thank me for being your friend." She was promptly smacked playfully by Kurenai.

"No, I wanted to thank you for giving me the chance to enter Naruto's life. He reached out to help you and I can't help but think of you as the bridge that allowed me to try again."

"I'd love to take credit for it, but it had never been my intention to play therapist for you and the boy."

"You know you could just say 'you're welcome', right?"

"I could, but I won't. Then again, you're welcome to take me back to bed and thank me properly."

"Anko!"

The shout and the laughter that followed were loud enough to be heard by the Wolves guarding the apartment, many of which shook their heads.

Naruto-Sama certainly kept rather odd company.

* * *

Not a word was uttered as he strode into the room, his eyes fixed firmly upon his Kage. He paid no mind to the smiling woman save his initial notice of her presence. Moving into the standard Konoha salute he held it in silence as he waited to be addressed by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

Hope shone in the eyes of Uzumaki Kushina but her voice was not heard as the Sandaime continued to gaze at the young man before him. After a moment the old Sarutobi broke the silence.

"Gennin Naruto, thank you for coming on such short notice." Kushina gave her Kage an odd look when he referred to her son by given name despite the oddly formal setting but neither of the others seemed to take notice.

"You summoned me, Hokage-Sama." It was not a question but the simple truth. His Kage called and he answered solely out of duty. The message was not lost on the man.

"I did, and I'm sorry it's so early, but I'd like to get this taken care of as quickly as possible, preferably before team meetings start." Naruto raised a brow at that but otherwise remained still.

"And might I ask how the other teams are involved in this?" Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes, of course. I've called you to my office to discuss your future as a Shinobi. Seeing as you are not currently on a team, it is likely that your career will be quite different from those of your peers."

"Understood, Hokage-Sama. What about my career would you like to discuss?"

"The beginning, mostly. You are aware of your current situation and the difficulties that may arise from it?"

"I am. As a reserve I must rely on higher ranking Shinobi to obtain missions and the experience necessary to be promoted. However, if I was able to prove myself capable quickly enough amongst them it could lead to my career advancing rapidly."

"Quite right." Agreed the Hokage. "Do you know anyone willing to aid you in this or would you need to find recently promoted Chuunin?"

"Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko has offered to take me on missions when she has time off work. As I understand it the T&I department has been rather slow as of late and she has a surplus of free time."

"Anko? Hmm." Hiruzen stroked his chin in thought. "She could be a pretty good match for you. She's not as serious as you are, but she knows how to get the job done and doesn't worry about anything other than the end results. You might not be able to advance quickly working under her, but you should gain valuable experience."

"I believe much the same, Hokage-Sama. Mitarashi-San and I have relations outside of work and I feel comfortable enough letting her take the lead during missions."

"Ah, so the two of you are friends then? I'm glad to see she has more people than just Kurenai-San. Now, back to why I called you here this morning." Motioning to Kushina, she stepped closer to the desk.

"This is Uzumaki Kushina, one of my most skilled Jounin." He introduced. Both Naruto and Hiruzen noticed her flinch when she was introduced to her child but made no mention of it. Naruto's salute dropped as he turned to face her and was back in place just as quickly.

"Jounin Uzumaki." He greeted with a nod. She flinched again at the formal address but managed to bring herself to do the same.

"Gennin Uzumaki." She returned, taking note of the darkening of his eyes and the stillness that had fallen over her Kage.

Coughing to break the uncomfortable silence that had begun its decent, Hiruzen called Naruto's attention back to him.

"Gennin _**Naruto**_ ," He stressed, shooting a quick glance to Kushina. "While your plans with Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi were an unexpected surprise that I am quite pleased to learn of, I originally called you here today to present another option."

Hiruzen gestured to Kushina who was looking at him quizzically. It was obvious that she suspected something was going on that she hadn't been informed about, now it was only a question of how long it might take for her to figure it out.

"Jounin Uzumaki has expressed a desire to apprentice you. Normally it would be difficult to arrange an apprenticeship so soon after graduation, but your status as a reserve member makes it far easier."

"Is that so? I hope that you will excuse me, Hokage-Sama, but this seems rather strange to me."

"Please, speak your mind Gennin Naruto. We are here to discuss your career."

"That would be the first thing. You are a busy man, Hokage-Sama, one with far more important things to do than advise me about my future. I do believe the registration offices provide such services for the Shinobi of Konoha no Sato and Hi no Kuni."

"You are correct, but as Jounin Uzumaki has been having trouble locating you over the past week I thought it easier to simply have you both here. There's no point in wasting valuable time when you could be getting the training you need."

Naruto was silent for a moment.

"Well spoken, Hokage-Sama. It is quite evident as to why you are our leader here in the Leaf. Now, the second matter would have to be why it is that Jounin Uzumaki desires to take me as an apprentice."

Kushina answered this one herself.

"I know you have a lot of potential and would like to help you reach it."

He looked briefly to the Hokage with a raised brow before responding to her.

"It was my understanding that you have been absent from Konohagakure no Sato for the past four years, exactly what do you know of any potential I might have? Thus far the entirety of my training has taken place while you were away and you have yet to witness skill I might have in any area of Shinobi arts."

"Well, yes, I suppose that's true." She admitted. "But I have heard a lot about you and would like to work with you."

"And why would I accept an apprenticeship from you, how will I benefit?"

"She is highly skilled, Naruto, one of the best Jounin I have. She could teach you a lot."

"With all due respect to the both of you, what is it she could teach me? I know nothing of her skillset and she knows nothing of mine."

"Well," Started Kushina as she spotted his blade. "I could teach you to use that blade of yours."

He snorted in response.

"I've been getting lessons, thank you." This peaked Hiruzen's interest.

"With who?"

"Uzuki Yugao, Hokage-Sama."

"Ah, yes, she is quite skilled. Jounin Uzumaki here was actually her Sensei back when she was team eight." Kushina gave a nod in confirmation.

"Then anything I could have learned from Jounin Uzumaki I can learn from her."

"And if Jounin Uzumaki didn't teach her everything she knows?" Questioned the Kage.

"In that case, I would have no reason to believe she would teach it all to me and there would be no point to changing teachers."

"A fair point Gennin Naruto." Hiruzen turned to Kushina. "Anything else you might like to add to show your ability to help him?"

'Showing ability' gave her an idea and brought a smile to her face.

"I believe I do. I have spent the last four years teaching Uzumaki Naruko, perhaps a spar between the two of them would show him exactly what I have to offer in an apprenticeship."

He thought about it for a minute but couldn't find any reason not to allow it. The spar would be a nice, controlled environment and would give him an opportunity to witness Naruto's skill first hand. If his sister beat him he'd learn from his mother, if he managed to completely outclass her Kushina wouldn't have any way to convince him of the apprenticeship and the matter would be dropped.

Naruto had remained completely professional during this encounter, too. Hiruzen was fairly certain he could maintain his professionalism while sparing against his sister so there was no real concern with the spar itself.

Then again, being beaten by his sister after she had taken his spot in a team would probably drive the family further apart, but such was out of his hands. What mattered now was ensuring the future Shinobi of Konoha were started on the right path.

"I can see no reason to be against this. Gennin Naruto, what are your thoughts?"

"A better method of learning her teaching abilities escapes me, this should prove sufficient."

"Then it's decided. Kushina, gather your…student…and meet us at training ground one, I believe they are currently on a mission so it should be free. I'll give you a half hour starting now, make sure she's ready."

"Yes, Hokage-Sama." Kushina wasted no time in leaving the office to find her daughter. He chances of teacher her soon seemed to rely on the outcome of this spar, she had to make sure Naruko understood how important this was.

"Naruto, are you ready to go?" The young man gave a quick look at himself before nodding, which Hiruzen found suspicious considering his usual kunai holsters were absent. He knew Naruto was a proud person and tended to be fairly confident, but going into a fight without all your equipment?

That was far too foolish for the boy.

"I am, Hokage-Sama."

"Very well, let's be off. Cat, Monkey, you're with me." The two ANBU were immediately flanking him and it was quite obvious that both were pleased to be able to witness this.

Naruto followed the other three out of the office at respectable distance and unknowingly had the same thought as the Sandaime;

' _Well, that wasn't so bad.'_

* * *

It took less than five minutes for her to rush home but that was far more than she would have liked. She unlocked the compound and wadded through the yet to be cut grass before bursting into the house and hurrying to the kitchen.

"Naruko!" Luckily, Naruko was where she expected, finishing her breakfast in the kitchen in preparation for her team meeting.

"Yes, Kaa-san?"

"Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, but I don't need to leave for a while." She was understandably confused.

"Good, finish up your food, we have to go."

"Go where?"

"I talked to Naruto about becoming my apprentice this morning-"

"What?! Really?! What did he say?!"

"He doesn't think he'd gain anything from it."

"That doesn't make any sense, you trained me." Kushina gave her daughter a smirk.

"Exactly, and that's why we have to go. You're going to prove to him just how much I can teach him."

"I have to fight Nii-Kun?" Naruko was conflicted about that. On one hand, she wanted to show him everything she had learned while they were away, on the other, she didn't want to hurt him. She had been trained by a Jounin for four years and had a giant mass of chakra within her while he had just been going to the academy. It wouldn't be fair, but if it could convince him to accept an apprenticeship it could be worth it.

"Don't think of it as fighting, Little Sunflower, it's a spar. You're going to show him your skill and he's going to show you his. I heard one of my old students, Uzuki Yugao, has been teaching him to use a blade so you may want to grab that Tanto I gave you."

"Oh, so he has has some training beyond the academy?" Naruko perked up instantly. Even if he didn't receive as extensive training as she had at least she wouldn't be fighting a basic academy student. Of course, she also knew it was probably a bad idea to underestimate her brother.

"That's right, so don't worry about him. It's better for us, too."

"Why's that?"

"Because now we can show him that not only am I a good teacher, but I'm a better teacher than my old student."

"And then we can spend time with him, right?"

"You bet, I'll make sure to bring him back here for dinner whenever I can."

"Just dinner?"

"Well, I'll invite him to live in the compound again but you know he's renting an apartment right now. If he's happy supporting himself then we should let him. However, that won't mean we aren't going to visit him whenever we get a chance." Naruko shot her mother a bright grin that quickly faltered.

"Did you figure out why he seems so angry? I knew he'd be upset with us leaving, but I thought he'd be happy to have us back." A frown found its way onto Kushina's face. There was obviously something going on, the way the Sandaime addressed her son said as much, but she didn't know what it was yet. Kurenai hadn't said anything, she hadn't seen Tsunade, Hiruzen didn't volunteer any information and the only thing she knew about Kakashi at the moment was that he was still reading that smut and being lazy according to her daughter. She couldn't be certain that they all knew what was wrong, but she had a good feeling that Hiruzen knew the most. And if he didn't want to just tell her? Fine. She'd just have to find out from her son.

Or, she would as soon as she had him apprenticed under her. Seeing as that should be taken care of this morning, they could talk about it over lunch so she'd know what she missed while she was away. Of course, then she'd have to drag him back here to talk with his sister and give him the gifts they had gathered over the trip.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out and make it all better." Her thoughts immediately drifted to the detached, professional manner in which he had spoken to her earlier. She knew it was a formal setting, but to act like he had no idea who she was hurt more than she could describe, especially because she knew he remembered her. Their encounter the previous day had proven that well enough. The difference here though was that he had shown anger there, as remarkably restrained as it had been, but there was no sign of anything in the Hokage's office earlier.

Anger she could handle, she could deal with that, but for him to show nothing, towards her as if she had no part in his life?

What had happened to her baby?

* * *

He was aware of Kushina's arrival with her daughter but he continued to watch curiously as Naruto strapped the Kunai holsters to his legs. He hadn't had them in his office, he was sure of that, and yet here he was with two very good ones. He couldn't have snatched them off of a fellow Shinobi, the quality of them was far too high to have been owned by anyone without the skill to notice the boy, but where else might he have obtained them.

He had followed behind the Kage and his guards, so someone could have slipped them to him, but then they would have needed to know that Naruto was about to require them. It made his suspicions that Naruto was involved in the mysterious Wolves that much more solid but it also brought a great amount of concern. People had all moved out of the way for him and Naruto wasn't that much behind so how did they manage to get close enough to hand him the gear?

It was certainly not a pleasant thought though it was quite likely he was overthinking things. Of course, as a Shinobi, overthinking things was part of the job. If you missed even one outcome that outcome was bound to happen.

Him sending Naruto to T&I, for example.

He hadn't thought about non-Uchiha learning about what had happened from escaped clanmembers and it had happened.

He hadn't predicted losing all of Naruto's trust when he was concerned with retrieving information and it happened.

He hadn't expected Naruto to be on good terms with an unknown group or declare war on the Yamanaka and yet both happened.

Actually, now that he thought about it all, most of his recent oversights belonged exclusively to Naruto.

Perhaps he was losing his touch.

He really should be retired already.

A quick look over to Kushina showed her speaking quietly to her daughter, no doubt giving her some last words of encouragement before the spar. Admittedly, quite a lot rested upon this for the Uzumaki family. Naruto, on the other hand, had no concerns about this spar. If he won he won, if he lost he lost. Regardless, his decision to become apprenticed to Kushina would depend on how well Naruko was able to impress him with what her mother had taught.

Just like the last test of the Chuunin exams, the goal wasn't to win.

Pulling back from her daughter, she handed her a Tanto which earned a raised brow from the Hokage. Naruto had been training with Yugao in use of his blade but he didn't know how much training Naruko had received during the trip. As he understood it, their focus was on basic Shinobi skills and the harnessing of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Though he probably should have expected her to have been taught to use some sort of weapon considering how much Kushina loved her sword.

He moved his gaze from the two women and back over to Naruto who stood firm, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited. A tap to his shoulder caught his attention and when Cat looked from him to Naruto he gave her a nod.

With quick strides she approached him before removing her armguards and handing them to her student. Without a word he strapped them to his arms. She looked at his chest before taking a glance at the flexible standard issue ANBU armor she wore, no doubt contemplating lending him that too, before shaking her head and holding out her hand.

Hiruzen and the others were rather surprised and quite confused when Naruto drew his blade and surrendered it to her. At first glance it was beyond obvious that this wasn't some run of the mill blade. No, this was something far beyond what most Shinobi would ever wield and he had doubts that it would be common to come across a Samurai with such a blade.

As soon as the blade was in her grasp she reached for her own Tanto and handed it to him. Hiruzen understood that she simply didn't want him using such a magnificent blade during a spar and Kushina was probably thinking along the same line, but Naruko didn't seem to get it.

"Is there something wrong with his blade?"

"No." Responded Cat flatly. "He just shouldn't be using it against a fellow Shinobi of the leaf."

"Why?" Naruko tilted her head. "I'm sure my Tanto can handle it; it's Uzumaki forged, after all."

"It's not a matter of how well the blades are made; it's a matter of the blade itself. He should not be using Mōryō's Tooth against a comrade."

Naruko was completely lost but Hiruzen could understand well enough that this blade had history. It may not be one of the legendary weapons that most older warriors knew by heart, but judging from Kushina's shocked gasp, it was well enough known amongst users of the blade.

Well, that or it was a named blade of Uzumaki make, both were just as likely.

"Mōryō's Tooth? Where on earth did he get that blade?" Asked Kushina, her eyes never leaving the pitch black blade as the silver edge gleamed in the sunlight. Cat just shrugged.

"I don't know and he won't say." Naruto nodded in agreement.

"What's the big deal with this tooth? Why can't he use it against me?"

"It's not so much the blade as it is the history behind it. The stories say it was born of a demon to combat him should he escape his prison but the first blood it tasted was that of the priestesses that blessed it."

"So it's a blessed blade then?"

"No, not in the slightest. It's considered quite cursed and leaves trails of bodies in the wake of its wielder."

"Then what's the big deal about using it in a spar?"

"The blade is not meant for safe fighting, it exists solely to spill the blood of those it goes against. To fight with it would declare your intentions to kill your opponent and for them to spare you would mean your life wasn't worth ending. There may be some willing to spar with legendary blades, but one does not fight using a blade as accursed as Mōryō's Tooth."

"But he was going to use it until she stopped him." That stopped Kushina cold. After a moment she managed to respond.

"I suppose that means he was taking you seriously. Remember to be careful, we don't know how he fights and it would be rather embarrassing for you to lose because of a single mistake you made."

"Don't worry, Kaa-san. I'll make you proud."

Hiruzen looked between the two groups and decided they were as ready as they were going to get.

"Kushina, Cat, step away please." Both women moved over to him, watching the two young Shinobi intently.

"Are you both ready?"

"You bet, Jiji!"

"I am, Hokage-Sama."

"Then begin." Even before he had finished his words, Naruko was racing forward to show what she could do. Naruto, on the other hand, remained stationary, casting quick glances around the training ground and the surrounding forest.

Her first strike lashed out just as she was in range only to be blocked by his Tanto. Oddly, he made no move to knock the blade out of the way or make a retaliatory strike of his own. Holding his blade in her intended path, he stopped the blade and allowed her to try again. Two strikes, five strikes, seven strikes, all blocked almost like he couldn't be bothered to participate in the spar.

With each block, however, he was taking steps backwards, giving her the space to recover and try again. Kushina was puzzled by this strange behavior but Cat, who had worked with him for many, many hours, seemed to understand what he was trying to do.

Hiruzen seemed to be of the same mind as Kushina, having expected a proper Kenjutsu match. That's what Naruto had wanted, right? So, what was he up to?

"I'm afraid, ladies, that I'm not all that familiar with swordfighting. This, however, seems quite odd. Is he trying to wear her out or get a feel for her technique?"

Cat gave a quick snort.

"I know you can see how plainly she telegraphs her moves, Hokage-Sama. Some might think it chaotic, but she's just following the flow of previous movements. I'm certain Naruto can see it just as easily."

Kushina rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

"I've managed to teach her a decent amount and she's gotten pretty good, but I'm still trying to teach her to disguise her movements. It seems that she's not even trying to hide them this match, either too confident or too excited to realize she's not doing it."

"Looks pretty excited to me." Commented Hiruzen. "But does that mean he's just trying to tire her out? I know you Uzumaki have a lot of stamina so it would take a while, but she seems more than willing to keep swinging her blade until she drops."

"Sounds like something she'd do." Admitted Kushina.

"That's not his plan, it would draw out the fight far too long. It could take hours against a decent swordfighter, but with an Uzumaki we could be here all day."

"Then what might he be up to?" Questioned the Kage. "Of all of us, you probably know him best." Kushina flinched at that. "Why won't he attack?"

"Like Uzumak-san said, her daughter is decent with a blade, even if she is telegraphing a lot of moves. He knows he can block them, but if he were to try attacking she may be able to get a hit in herself, he isn't willing to risk it."

"Wouldn't that draw out the fight more?"

"It would, Hokage-Sama, if he was planning to continue all day."

"Well he better hurry." Commented Kushina. "That treeline is fast approaching.

Hidden behind her mask, Cat smiled.

"Oh, I think he's well aware."

Before they could ask, Naruto sprang into motion. As Naruko's upward slash was backstepped and she brought it back down he flipped his Tanto into a reversed grip and moved into her strike. His blade met hers but, unlike the last few dozen times, this time he kept moving. His right arm continued to cross his body bringing with it Naruko's Tanto and his entire body flowed with it.

With a twist his left leg arced around from behind to collect solidly to her head. Temporarily disengaged from the slightly dazed Naruko he didn't hesitate for a second-

He fled into the surrounding forest.

"W-what?" Kushina couldn't understand in the slightest. He had such an opportune opening, why hadn't he taken it?

Hiruzen was likewise confused however he could practically feel the smugness rolling of Cat.

"Care to explain?" He asked.

"You both made a single disastrous error while watching the fight." She started. Both knew she was smirking behind her mask. "You assumed this was a Kenjutsu match."

"I was under the impression that a Kenjutsu match was what Naruto wanted."

"No, Hokage-Sama, he wanted to see how well Naruko's been taught and how well it would match with his own style."

"Style? All we saw was him blocking, there was no style." Interjected Kushina who watched as Naruko recovered and ran in after her brother.

"And that's the mistake; you expect a certain fighting style because he's a Kenjutsu user when he is, in fact, not a Kenjutsu user."

"Then what is he?" He asked, but he already had a good idea what the answer was going to be. The second he stopped thinking of this being a Kenjutsu match everything seemed to make sense.

"He's a Shinobi."

"He baited her into his element." Noted Hiruzen. "He knows he doesn't have a chance in a straight fight so he changes the rules and gives himself the advantage."

"That's right, Hokage-Sama. He does his best to never attack in the open, that's why he defended until the last second. We both know his skill in stealth, though; he's going to tear her apart now."

Hiruzen gave a quiet curse.

"Monkey, retrieve my crystal ball- we must see what's going on."

"Yes, Hokage-Sama." He was gone with a whisper.

"Cat, what are the chances of him playing with his food?"

"High, Hokage-Sama. The spar was to see her skills, he's likely to take it slow in order to give her the chance to prove herself."

"Good, I'd rather not have to call any medics."

"You might want to call one anyway, Hokage-Sama. All it takes is one bad strike."

"I suppose you're right." He mused, ignoring Kushina's concerned look.

"Naruko's going to be okay, won't she?"

"Should be." Answered Cat with a shrug. "Though there's no doubt that she's going to be really roughed up by the time he's done with her. I'd be willing to bet he stayed near the edge of the forest and followed her deeper."

"Like a predator." Came Kushina's comment.

"Like a wolf." There were just too many coincidences and too many similarities for it to not be true. Hiruzen couldn't decide, however, if that was necessarily a bad thing.

It was a few tense minutes later that Monkey returned with the crystal ball in one hand and a small table under his arm. Setting both down he stepped back and let the three take their seats around the ball. No one questioned Cat joining them despite her having been brought as a guard.

The images shown were just about what Cat and the Hokage had expected but Kushina gave a startled gasp.

Having chosen to focus the crystal ball on Naruko the group was treated to the confused girl as Naruto dashed from between trees and cut at her with his Tanto. To her credit, a fourth of the strikes were deflected, but Naruto never slowed with his assault. Much to Kushina's relief, there was no blood.

Yet.

Not a single one of his cuts had drawn blood and all watching were confident that it was by choice rather than a lack of ability. Her clothes, on the other hand, had certainly seen better days. While he avoided striking at her skirt –most likely for her own benefit- he didn't hesitate to tear her top to shreds. With each strike it became more and more unsalvageable until, with a final cut, it could no longer maintain its place on her body, scraps of fabric lightly fluttering to the dirt.

In a very Kunoichi manner, Naruko ignored her lack of top and made no move to cover her bound chest, instead choosing to stay on guard for further attacks. Somewhat surprised by the way in which she reacted to her toplessness, Naruto had stopped moving to observe her curiously. Eventually settling on acknowledgement, he gave her a brief nod before vanishing into the forest again.

While Kushina was busy being proud of her daughter for keeping focused on the fight, Cat and Hiruzen were both finding themselves impressed by the fact that the bindings were in perfect condition despite the fact that he had cut away the cloth that had covered them.

It was a testament to his speed and accuracy and the Sandaime Hokage found himself rather impressed. Naruto hadn't been working with his blade for that long, as far as he knew, and Yugao worked a lot being his guard, so for the young Shinobi to demonstrate such skill was incredible. As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, Cat spoke up.

"He doesn't spend his time on learning to combat others with blades so all his time is used to become more fast and accurate. Precise movements ensure he can block attacks with minimal effort and speed makes it possible for him to intercept any blades coming at him. His attack ability is rather shoddy in the open, so he doesn't waste time trying. As you can see, he can attack quite well if he gets a chance to hide."

"Yes." Agreed Hiruzen. "How very Shinobi-like. It's not often you see a Gennin unconcerned with flashy Jutsu and powerful techniques."

"It's just not his style, Hokage-Sama." She turned her attention to Kushina. "It does, however, seem to be Naruko's style. Why hasn't she used any Jutsu?"

"I'd like to say it's because it can be dangerous using them in such a confined space as those dence woods, but it's likely because he hasn't used any yet. He's using a blade so she'll use a blade, I think she believes it to be honorable." Admitted the woman.

"It is." Said the Sandaime. "But honorable isn't going to help you outside Konoha. As much as I hate to admit it, even with flashy Jutsu most of the Shinobi from other villages are far closer to real Shinobi than our own."

"I know, and I hope she knows. Luckily, this is Konoha." Cat gave a snort at that.

"Something funny?"

"Yeah, this may be Konoha, but I stand by what I said earlier. Naruto is a Shinobi. He has no care for honor, only victory."

"I know you're probably closer to him than the two of us," Kushina flinched again at the jab, though she couldn't decide if it had been intended or not. "But I find that hard to believe. He is normally very polite and respectful. Even if it's not in the way we might think of it, he seems to have his own code of honor."

"Not honor, Hokage-Sama, just conduct. His manner is reminiscent of the clans, but one can't forget that the clans weren't always Shinobi. So while he may seem honorable because of the way he acts, he is anything but."

"Hmm, yes, I can see that. In which ways is he dishonorable? I've yet to see anything from him that makes me think he's playing dirty."

"In this match? Nothing yet. It would probably end it. In my own matched with him, however, he tends to cheat quite frequently."

"Care to share any examples?"

"As you can see in this match, sometimes he'll go for clothing, either with his hands or his blade, to serve as a distraction. Sometimes he'll have someone else nearby to help him or he'll slip explosive notes onto you before the match. There have been a few times he's buried those tags on the training field the day before so he could activate them during matches. He just doesn't play fair, he finds the chances of losing to be too high for his liking."

"He's a Gennin sparing against a superior opponent, why is losing such an issue?" Questioned Kushina.

"Because losing in the field means death." Cat's grim answer was direct and to the point.

"He takes this very seriously and one would do well to remember that. Kids these days don't understand what they're getting into when they join the academy but he does and I think he longs for it."

"What?" While Kushina was the one to voice it, the thought was shared by Hiruzen.

"Can you imagine him doing anything else? He was born to be part of the Shinobi world. He knows what it's like, he knows the things he'll see and have to do, but he accepts it. Even if he never went to the academy, he would be a Shinobi."

"Unfortunate but, from what I've seen, true. But I can say he'll make a fine Shinobi with some experience under his belt." Agreed Hiruzen before turning to Kushina. "And your daughter seems to be coming along well too. Not many young Kunoichi could continue without their top."

"Thank you, Hokage-Sama. I've done what I can to ensure she's ready for this lifestyle."

Cat shook her head sadly. "She might have the skill, and she might have the ability, but she'll never be ready for this lifestyle. It clashes against her personality."

Hiruzen spoke before an argument had a chance to break out.

"Then it's a good thing the Shinobi world had changed so much over the years, I think she'll fit in perfectly with the new generation."

The last comment of the matter was stolen by a rather grim Cat.

"It's not this generation we should be worried about."

With that said the three returned their attention back to the crystal ball in time to see Naruto's last attack remove Naruko's bindings. The result was expected.

"Kyaaa!" Even from where they were seated they could hear her.

It was one thing for her to be able to stay on task with her top gone, it was quite another to keep focused with her chest completely exposed. Immediately her hands went to cover herself, dropping her Tanto to the dirt.

"I suppose that's the end of this." Mused Hiruzen. Next to him, Cat gave a nod.

"Maybe." Mumbled a worried Kushina. "It might end up being the beginning."

The explanation happened before they could ask. Naruto, who had stopped after removing her bindings, leapt back as fast as he could as four gold chains materialized on Naruko's back and lashed out. In an instant Naruto's advantage had been turned against him.

Without enough room to maneuver and his inability to keep track of all four chains as they snaked around trees he had no choice but to abandon the forest. Using trees to launch himself away from the new threat. And while he may have been able to avoid the chains in this manner, the trees he used weren't so lucky and stood no chance against the solidified chakra.

Raising his arms to shield him from the shower of wooden splinters that came his way he found himself quite fortunate to be wearing Cat's armguards. The rest of his body, unlike the face he had been able to protect, had not been quite so lucky. With one final tree, he cleared the surrounding forests and made it back into the grassy field that made up training ground one.

Even as blood trickled down from the countless splinters that had pierced his flesh like wooden Senbon he kept moving, putting distance between himself and his sister. It wasn't long before a thoroughly embarrassed and infuriated blonde appeared at the end of the treeline but she made no move to leave it.

Only her left hand covered her chest now, her dropped Tanto hanging loosely from the fingers of her right hand, but she didn't look to be in the mood to continue with Kenjutsu. All four of her chains wrapped around a nearby tree and with a mighty pull it was uprooted.

Before his treatment for Chakra Withdrawal he had torn up training grounds well enough to know exactly what was coming next.

He wasn't disappointed.

With a great heft the tree went sailing towards him like a missile and crashed into the ground with enough force to completely destroy it. Naruto had managed to roll away from the intended impact point but he was far too close to avoid the shower of wood that followed.

The pieces of wood lodged into his flesh were significantly bigger this time.

With a grimace, he spared a second to examine his wounds.

It didn't look good.

If he was lucky, he might be able to take two more volleys of those splinters before he was finished. He had no intention of letting trees get the best of him. Bleeding steadily, he pushed himself backwards and further into the training ground in hopes that she would be forced to abandon the treeline. It was still likely that she could launch her chosen projectiles to the other end of the field but it increased his ability to dodge them.

Realizing this, or perhaps simply acting in anger, she advanced on him. Slowly, at first, she was soon sprinting towards her brother with her right hand grasping her Tanto tightly in a reverse grip and four golden chains whipping around her. Still a good distance away, she sent the chakra constructs ahead of her only for Naruto to deftly dodge them. With a swipe of his Tanto they were cut and began to dematerialize.

Both Kushina and Naruko were slightly surprised that he had managed to cut the chains but the slightly glowing Tanto in his hand told them all they needed to know. It wasn't chakra metal, but even normal weapons could be coated in chakra. It was, however, quite difficult and not what people usually used when faced with the swift attacks of chakra chains.

He seemed unsurprised by the result, too, as if he knew exactly how to deal with chains before he had even seen them.

However, while Kushina was still surprised and Naruto was unphased, his sister's surprise quickly turned to anger at having her chains cut. Forcing more chakra though existing chains she stopped them from collapsing and brought them back to defend her.

Shooting her brother a glare, she drained her reserves. A tidal wave of chains burst from her back, easily numbering in the hundreds, and quickly rose like the fist of an angered god ready to crash down and smite its foes.

Naruto snarled at the sight. He had gone to great lengths to ensure she'd remain completely unscathed from this spar so she could attend her team meeting and she responded first by drawing blood and now by using an Uzumaki technique against him like this. As far as she or her mother were aware he didn't know how to use the chakra chains which meant this was done with the intention of crushing him and ending the match.

Fine.

If she wanted to play that way he'd show her the proper way to use the technique.

Throwing his Tanto to the side the spectators thought for a brief second that he might be surrendering. They were quickly proven wrong.

Placing one open hand over the other he swiftly crouched low and slammed his hands against the ground, almost as if summoning. Looking up, he met the eyes of his sister, purple eyes burning with fury, and with one last snarl his own chains made themselves known. In an explosion of soil they erupted from beneath her and swiftly wove themselves through her own chains.

These chains looked nothing like hers.

Black as the night, they swallowed the light of the morning sun and each length of links was so compact that it looked more like tendrils of ink than anything else. The maneuverability of his chains was unmatched by the golden chains that she sent forward only to halt halfway through no will of her own.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to send them forward only for them to fail to do so much as budge. A quick look showed the black tendrils completely interwoven with her links of her chains. At the command of her brother his chains constricted with enough force to completely shatter her own.

She had no choice but to look up in disbelief as her chains dissipated into nothingness, taking with them her remaining chakra. His chains numbered no more than a dozen and yet her hundreds had been crushed. Her wide eyes turned to look at the one who had destroyed one of her best techniques and it was then she noticed the blood.

The first thing she felt was worry followed quickly by guilt. She hadn't actually intended to hut him though a part of her argued that he deserved it for removing her top and her chest bindings.

There was one more part, however, a little black seed that realized he had stopped her while injured with what looked to be very little effort. The more she thought about it, the more that seed began to grow until rage started to strangle her heart and clouded her senses.

She had trained with her mother, the last known user of those chains, for four years and yet he was able to stop her without that training. During this match she wanted to show him all that she had learned, she had wanted to impress him and make her mother proud and yet he couldn't give her that.

His black chains retreated as he stood from his crouch, wrapping themselves tightly around him in a protective coating that prevented the shards of wood embedded into his flesh from moving. Her mother had never even talked about that being a possibility and so when a quick look at her mother –held back by both the Hokage and Cat- showed that she was just as shocked Naruko knew without a doubt that her brother possessed skill with the technique far surpassing her own.

And that only infuriated her more.

Gritting her teeth, she knew she was out of chakra. That didn't mean she didn't have other ways to get it, though.

Digging deep into herself, she found it, a burning pulse like the heartbeat of the sun. Without hesitation she grabbed hold and dragged it out. Instantly her system was flooded with molten chakra that empowered her more than anything else possibly could. Red wisps of Chakra escaped her body, raising through the air like tongues of flame.

No one could mistake what it was she was doing.

As her eyes turned red and her canines seemed to lengthen she gave a feral growl. No longer concerned with things like modesty her arm fell to her side, nails sharpening like claws.

It was not to last.

With a scream of pain it was gone just as quickly as it had come, leaving her to writhe on the ground in agony. Skin seemed to steam and blood leaked from her mouth as twisted and contorted under assault from some invisible adversary.

Naruto made to step towards her to see what was wrong only to notice her wild movements and pained screams increasing with every step he took. Backing up, they died down slightly and he was left to ponder it as Kushina ran to her daughter's side.

It took him a second to piece it together.

Giving his sister a cautious glance, he realized that Mito was currently there, not twenty yards from him, and was reacting to his presence. Unbidden, her words echoed in his head and forced him to turn away. He should have known better to think she would be gone for good. She was here now and it was quite obvious she wasn't too pleased by it.

Retrieving his Tanto he met the approaching figures as they moved to aid Naruko. He handed over the blade and surrendered the armguards without a word, taking Mōryō's Tooth with a nod of thanks. Turning to the Hokage he snapped into the Konoha salute despite his steadily bleeding injuries.

"Hokage-Sama."

"At ease, Naruto. Have you made your decision?"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama. While Kushina seems to be a good teacher, I do not feel what she might teach me will be compatible with my style."

"I understand, I'll let her know."

"Thank you, Hokage-Sama. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a medic." The Hokage held up a hand in response.

"Cat, you're dismissed, please aid Naruto for the remainder of the day."

She gave a quick salute before she made her way to Naruto's side.

"Come on," She urged. "I can take care of your wounds. Is your apartment alright? It's closer than mine."

"Should be." He gave a pained shrug as they walked off. "I'm pretty sure Anko sleeps in longer than Mai but even she should be up by now."

Naruto completely missed the surprised looks shot at him by Hiruzen and Monkey.

Shaking his head, Hiruzen turned back to watch Kushina help Naruko, who's thrashing about had stopped. Moving his eyes up to the sky and noting the position of the sun he gave a snort and shook his head again.

"Is something the matter, Hokage-Sama?" Asked Monkey.

Hiruzen's comment had him shaking his head too.

"It's not even lunch yet."

* * *

 **And that's XX, see you all next week.**


	21. Truth

**Alright, chapter XXI.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan.**

 **Let's start the show!**

* * *

A hiss escaped from between his teeth as the final sliver was drawn from his flesh. As soon as it was gone she had pressed a wet cloth to the wound to clean away any blood and reached for one of the bandages nearby. Quickly switching the cloth for the bandage, she wasted no time taping it on.

"There," She said with a smile. "That should be sufficient. It will probably be a while until you fully heal, but seeing as you're on the reserves that shouldn't be too difficult."

"Uzumaki blood." He muttered in response.

"Ah, I had forgotten about that. A few days then. If they start bleeding heavily I expect you to find a trained medic."

"Will do, Yugao-Sensei."

"You're a Shinobi now," She said as she took a seat next to him on the couch, leaning back with a sigh. "I'd rather you call me Senpai."

"Alright." He paused for a moment. "You do realize that the couch is still covered in my blood, right Senpai?"

She gave him a careless shrug. "I'm doing laundry soon anyway, it will wash out."

"Really?" He quirked a brow. "How do you get it out?"

"Why's it matter? I already threw your clothes away."

"Because I'd rather not toss the couch."

"Ah, sorry, can't say; ANBU secret."

He stared at her for a few moments.

"I think you're making that up."

She gave another shrug. "Maybe, I guess you'll just have to make ANBU to find out."

"Are you really trying to influence my career choice using stain removal?"

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to try."

Giving a snort, he shook his head. This wasn't the first time she had tried to convince him to aim for ANBU. It was, however, the first time she had attempted to entice him with something so lame.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Naruto broke it.

"So, now that you've been dismissed for the day, any plans, Senpai?"

"Oh? Were you hoping to ask me out for the evening Kouhai?"

"No, but I'm sure I could fit that in if you'd like."

"Hayate is off today, so I'll probably spend some time with him later. Maybe some other time."

"I'll keep that in mind. You're free to go home if you'd like, Senpai. I won't tell Hokage-Sama."

"Thank you, Naruto, but I think I'll wait a bit before leaving. I have the rest of the day to spend with Hayate thanks to you, the least I can do is wait until after lunch to leave."

"Well, in that case, feel free to help yourself to my kitchen. I should have something edible for you."

She raised an inquisitive brow at him.

"You say that as if you won't be here."

"I might," He admitted. "If I take care of things quickly enough."

"What kind of things?"

"Gennin Hyuuga has asked to speak with me about some trouble they've been having."

"Which one?"

That brought him to a pause for a second.

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten that she had a cousin who is also of the Gennin rank. Hyuuga Hinata asked for my assistance."

"Wouldn't she be in a team meeting right now?"

"So?"

She looked at him for a moment before shrugging once more.

"I guess it's really not my problem whether or not you can drag her away from Kurenai. What kind of help did she need?"

"Religious."

"Religious?" She looked at him skeptically.

"Don't ask. It seems just like Shinobi, clans become more eccentric with age."

"I see." Frowned the ANBU. "Leaving soon?"

"Yeah, I'm going to wash off the rest of the blood and get some clothes but then I'll be off."

"I'll help." She said as she stood.

"It's fine, I can do it." He waved her off. Or, he tried to; she wasn't having it.

"You can't take a shower with those bandages so how do you expect to be able to wash yourself? Besides," She gestured to the towel that was laid over his lap. "So long as you keep that on it isn't anymore of you than I've seen today."

"I suppose you're right." He resigned with a sigh as he stood up and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"One of these days you'll learn that I'm always right." Her hand found its way to his shoulder and began guiding him to his bathroom.

"I'll have to remember that." He said with a smile. "And thank you for doing this, Senpai."

She smiled back. "Don't mention it, Kouhai."

* * *

She knocked tentatively at the door and tried to ignore the feeling of being watched. Cat, who appeared to be pretty close to him, and Monkey had seemed pretty fond of him. It would not surprise her if more ANBU felt the same way and had taken it upon themselves to watch over his apartment.

The door was answered quickly, not by who she'd have liked to see but by the one who would be likely to let her inside to speak with him.

"Ah, Yugao, it's been a long time," The fact that she had just seen Cat went unsaid. Personal and ANBU identities rarely crossed. Then again, with such distinctive hair people were almost guaranteed to know. "Is Naruto available?"

Her former student shook her head.

"He just left, Kushina." The tone used was reminiscent of the cold professionalism her son had been showing her just that morning and her chest tightened at the reminder of her first-born.

"Left? He was injured! You were supposed to be looking after him for the rest of the day!" Hiruzen had told her as much after she had managed to calm her daughter down. As soon as she learned she took her daughter home and rushed right over to her son's apartment.

"He's not doing anything strenuous," Yugao's eyes had narrowed slightly. "Just visiting a friend who asked for some advice."

"I see, sorry. Do you know where he went?"

"I do." She volunteered nothing else and after an awkward moment of silence Kushina realized her former student wasn't going to continue.

"Can you tell me where?"

"I can."

"Will you?"

"No." Kushina's shoulders slumped at the answer.

"I see, when will he be back?"

"He's aiming for sometime around lunch."

"I suppose I'll try again this afternoon." The crestfallen mother was about to turn away when she froze.

"Yugao, you're close to my son, right?"

"Considering I had to cut away his clothes and help him wash earlier, I would say so."

Kushina hesitated for a moment before gathering her resolve.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Yugao's brow rose questioningly.

"Pardon?"

"It's Naruto. I know something must have happened while I was away, but no one is coming out and telling me what it is. I was going to ask him today over lunch after he had become my apprentice but Hiruzen told me that he'd turned my offer down."

"I can't say I blame them for not wanting to be the one to tell you." Admitted Yugao. "Is that why you've come now?"

"I was going to offer to teach him Fuinjutsu. It's not used often in combat and I'm not sure what use he'd get out of it in his career but it's always been passed down amongst the Uzumaki and I thought he might like to learn."

"And then you could ask him during one of his lessons, I understand." She spared a quick look behind her before moving to the side. "Why don't you come inside, Kushina, we can talk in the kitchen."

Kushina entered but stopped at the entryway of the living room, staring at the ruined couch in horror. Closing the front door, Yugao moved to stand next to her.

"The couch looks a lot worse than he does." She claimed in an attempt to wave off the mother's concerns. Of course, it was understandable that anyone might be concerned with how stained the piece of furniture was. "I could only get one wound at a time so the others kept bleeding until the end. I do have to say your Uzumaki blood is damn resilient, I wasn't able to get any of it out and am starting to fear for my uniform."

Kushina's eyes moved from the couch to the bloodied bandages scattered around it.

"Most of that was me trying to clean the couch, only a few were from Naruto. I was just about to give up and clear the mess away when you arrived." Offered the woman in explanation.

"I see." Mumbled Kushina as she was led away into the kitchen. As the mother took a seat Yugao set about preparing tea.

"So," Started the ANBU agent. "You said something was wrong. What do you know about Naruto in regard to the past four years?"

"H-he's been going to the academy." The shame was easy enough to see. "And the compound rejected him."

"Yes, what else?"

Kushina stared intently down at the table before her.

"That's it, that's all I know." Her choked whisper bordered on a sob and Yugao had to hold in the disappointed sigh that wanted to leave her lips.

"I can't say I know everything that happened to him, we aren't that close, but it's evident I know far more than you do." Kushina flinched at that, once again reminded that others now held a more important place in the life of her son than she did.

"Anything helps." Spoke Kushina softly. "I just need to know what's wrong so I can start setting things right."

"Very well." Yugao gave an understanding nod as she placed the tea on the table. "I'll tell you what I know. Is there anything in particular you'd like to hear about first or should I start at the beginning?"

Kushina's first thought was to ask for the whole story but Tsunade and Kurenai came to mind. Had they really helped her little boy over the years? She was going to ask about that when she remembered the meeting in the Hokage's office just that morning.

"Hiruzen addresses my son as Gennin Naruto rather than Gennin Uzumaki and I doubt it's because his sister is also Gennin Uzumaki."

"It's not, because there is only one Gennin Uzumaki."

"What? Naruko and Naruto both graduated, they're both Gennin Uzumaki."

Yugao let out a deep sigh. It was no wonder why all the others had done their damndest to not inform Kushina as to her son's life over the past few years, this was not going to be easy.

"Uzumaki Naruto doesn't exist, Gennin Naruto renounced the Uzumaki name over a year ago before clan heir witnesses."

Kushina's world crashed around her.

* * *

He couldn't help but think it was a rather pleasant morning as he strolled through the forests that bordered the training grounds. He stayed rather relaxed as he made his way to training ground eight though he stayed alert for ant stray Kunai or- rarer- Jutsu that might come his way.

Of course, being training ground eight it was located quite close to the village and the chances of passing a field in which someone was launching Jutsu was unlikely. Just about every team training in these fields were gennin and while he had seen the team with Hinata's cousin and was nearly hit by a stray Kunai thrown by his bun-haired teammate none of the other teams he passed seemed to be doing such active training at this point.

It did not normally take long to travel the distance from his apartment to training ground eight but Yugao had stressed the importance of taking it easy and it was under threat of her jamming Senbon into every wound he reopened carelessly that kept his pace painfully sedate.

He wasn't going to try the woman.

So it was a leisurely stroll he took on his way to meet with the once Hyuuga heiress and, if what he heard had been correct, the new goddess of the branch family.

It was certainly an interesting development.

Reaching his destination, he was not surprised to see three fresh gennin all sitting in the grass as their instructor spoke to them. They cold be discussing all manner of things but considering how recently the group had been formed the talk was likely geared towards training arrangements and team dynamics.

What he was surprised to see, however, was a very bored Anko trying valiantly not to fall asleep as her friend spoke. The Inuzuka seemed to be having similar trouble, not that he could really blame him. The Genjutsu had a rather nice voice and anything she said could likely relax you into the arms of slumber.

That could be quite bad, as Yuuhi Kurenai wasn't fond of being ignored.

Luckily, Naruto's appearance would save him, at least until he had left. Making his way over to the group he momentarily wished he had brought his cane. While a cane could bee seen as a sign of weakness, it brought with it nobility that would do wonders to counter the numerous bandages that could be seen despite his loose red robes.

He had been originally against the idea, despite Yugao's insistence, but she had decided he really didn't need it in the end. He really should remember that she was always right.

So, caneless, he proceeded. Anko, who was looking everywhere but her friend in an effort to find something entertaining to keep her awake, was the first to notice his presence. With a large grin she rose quickly from the grass and gave him a wave.

"Naruto!" Called the childish Tokubetsu Jounin, attracting the attention of the others who soon turned to see what had gotten the woman so excited.

"Naruto!" Hinata seconded the woman's actions, her voice filled with relief. While Hinata waited for him to make his way over, Anko had other ideas and rushed to greet him. Her hug only stopped by the bandages he pointed to, the two walked to the main group with small smiles on their faces.

"Good morning, Naruto." Spoke Kurenai with a smile of her own. It was always nice to watch the two of them interact. "What brings you here?"

"And good morning to you as well, Jounin Yuuhi. I was wondering if I might steal away Gennin Hyuuga for a moment."

"Just a moment?"

"That is correct, I needed to speak with her about something."

She thought for a moment before looking to Hinata and her pleading eyes. Evidently she had been expecting this.

"Alright, but just this once."

"You have my gratitude, Jounin Yuuhi."

Hinata's response was nowhere near as reserved.

"Thanks, Kurenai-Sensei!"

With Hinata excused for the moment, the two of them walked to the edge of the field, far enough away from the Inuzuka to avoid being overheard. Of course, they needn't worry about that as Anko had taken it upon herself to distract him with some spur of the moment evasion training. Seeing Naruto and being reminded of her freedom always had put her in a good mood.

"So you got my letter?" He gave a nod.

"I did."

"W-well? What do you think?" She asked nervously. She was really hoping this could be helpful.

"I think your family has a lot more issues than I had origionaly realized."

"But you can use this, right?"

He gave her a smirk.

"I most certainly can, Hinata. You've done well."

Shyly, she began poking her fingers together. She had been doing that a lot less after meeting with him but that particular nervous tick still showed up on occasion.

"I really didn't do anything."

"You came to me about this and that's all I needed you to do."

"O-okay."

"Now, tell me, do they know of the Wolves?" She gave a hesitant nod.

"Two of them were discovered that night and someone mentioned that the Wolves protect the goddess."

"I see, anything else?"

"Erm, the two, well, they bowed to me." She didn't know how he might feel about that, being their leader, but she hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her.

"Alright, that should make things a bit easier within the Hyuuga compound."

"Eh? Y-you mean you aren't upset?" He just quirked a brow.

"No, should I be?"

"It's just that they bowed to me as if they were mine before everyone there. I thought-"

He held out a hand to stop her.

"It's fine. They serve you; just never forget that they do so at my command."

"I won't forget." She hesitated for a moment before speaking slightly more confidently. "I'm at your command, too."

She wasn't sure if the smile she received in return for such a declaration was proud but it was the closest thing to pride she had ever seen directed at her.

"I'm glad to hear that, Hinata no Mikoto." He continued as if he hadn't seen the enormous blush that had covered her face. "Establish yourself amongst them and don't hesitate to ask for advice from one of your guards or myself. But remember, the pack is here for you and we will support you."

"I-I understand. Is there anything you want me to work towards?" He shook his head.

"Not yet, just continue to make them love you and make sure they don't learn of my involvement. Some things will have to change amongst the wolves due to this development but that's probably for the best. In time I may be able to bring some of them into the Wolves to serve as additional protection for you but right now there's too much going on."

He paused.

"On second thought, see what you can do about the Yamanaka. I've had my Wolves back off but until public opinion changes and they start getting back on their feet I won't be able to do anything else with the clans of Konoha. Make something up about wanting to aid them in your benevolence or something. You might not hold the sway of the Hyuuga heiress anymore but if enough Hyuuga are seen with friendly relations towards the Mindwalkers and nothing else happens to them it should start them on the road to recovery."

"It will be done." She seemed to debate with herself about what she uttered next but went with it in the end. "Naruto-Sama."

He gave her a wolfish grin.

"I know it will, Hinata no Mikoto, now get back to your team."

With a soft smile on her lips, she did just that.

* * *

She was sitting at her desk when her apprentice entered the room with a frown. She paid no mind, however, to the downturn of her deceased lover's niece's lips.

"Did you get it?" She could hardly hide the eagerness she felt at the prospect of being able to make things right.

"Some of the stuff is sealed but I was able to get access to his medical records." She handed the older woman a single disappointingly thin folder.

"Is this everything?" That couldn't be right. She didn't want Naruto to have filed the folder with his suffering but surely there would be more documentation. He was a Shinobi now; most of the students had at least a nice sized record from training accidents by now as most injuries, regardless of severity, were reported by the academy.

"Yes, that's everything they have. Birth certificate, vaccines, eight years of annual checkups, a few accidents at home, and what I would assume is the reason Kushina wanted you to return." She didn't bother elaborating, Tsunade held the official report- or at least a copy of it- in her and right now. It would tell her more than she could.

"Thank you Shizune. I'm sure I can use this to start fixing things."

Her apprentice didn't voice her doubts but her expression certainly spoke volumes. Luckily Tsunade had turned back to the desk and had begun going through the contents of the folder.

"I'll probably be spending the rest of the day out in the village, did you need me to pick up anything on my way back?"

"No, no, I'll be fine. Go enjoy yourself." It came out half-mumbled as she focused on the papers before her but Shizune heard it well enough. Not chancing that Tsunade might change her mind, especially after reading the most current reports, Shizune didn't waste a second departing from the Senju compound.

She'd be sure not to return until late that night.

Tsunade barely noticed when Shizune made her escape, far too busy looking through the medical records of her godson. Like she said, it started just like she would have expected for the first eight years until right before he started at the academy. A most curious report by one Yakushi Kabuto spoke of concerns he had with Naruto having been conceived to a Jinchuriki. Such had never happened before and unlike his sister he didn't have the Kyuubi within him to help his body adjust to the chakra.

She understood now why Kushina had been concerned but it was quite evident that she had overreacted. Even if the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra was detrimental to her son it would have been better for her to remain just in case it was the opposite.

The next report was from the Uzumaki compound's rejection of Naruto and she winced at the burns it described. The chakra of Biju truly was terrible and really didn't mix well with humans. He did, however, seem to recover quite fast, which the medic had attributed to his Uzumaki healing possibly having been accelerated by traces of the Kyuubi's chakra.

As dangerous as it was, no one could deny the power of a Biju's chakra. It would seem that his body, in a manner that spoke clearly of his Uzumaki blood, harnessed that energy and used it to heal his body and the damage using that energy was causing. Though, she supposed, if he had any more residual chakra within him he'd probably be causing more damage to his body than he had any chance of being able to heal on his own.

If that were the case and medics had not known he'd have likely died within the week.

Just thinking about it caused her to shudder. Her godson would be dead and being both a medic and the one who was supposed to meet him at the academy the blame would have rested solely upon her shoulders. She tried to dismiss that thought as quickly as she could.

The final report made her pause. It was over two years old and yet there was nothing else between it and the start of his academy education years previous. There should be something else here, anything else. An accident during an academy spar, a cut while handling Kunai, hell even if he had missed a day because he was sick it would have shown up. It was like none of his injuries ever got reported.

The things it could mean made her uneasy.

Nevertheless, she continued to read the last report until she dropped the page in horror. She had thought it a possibility when reading Yakushi's report, but for it to have actually been the case?

It seemed impossible, too, having occurred two years after their departure-

Unless…

Unless the reported residual chakra had stayed with him for those two years, doing nothing but delaying the inevitable withdrawal that awaited all whose bodies became reliant on foreign chakra.

And worst of all-

She had been here.

Right _**fucking**_ here, in Konoha, and yet she had done nothing. Sure, she could blame it on not being informed, but no one in the medical field save Shizune knew she was the child's godmother. More than that, a lot of people didn't even know she was back and those that did knew she was retired. For what possible reason could they have sent for her?

Chakra withdrawal, while rare, was not unheard of and, while incredibly expensive, there were treatments available to get the body used to the loss of chakra and re-strengthen one's chakra system.

But she had been here.

She could have helped, she could have realized what was wrong back in the beginning before he had to go through it, she could have done something, anything.

But she hadn't.

And now it didn't look like there was anything she could use to help heal the relationship that should have been.

The one that never existed.

* * *

She hadn't been planning on returning to the compound until later that night, but Shizune found herself with one major problem.

' _What on earth am I going to spend the day doing?'_

She didn't have an errands to run, her friends at the hospital were working, everyone else she knew was busy, and she didn't have enough money to spend the rest of the day shopping (Nor did she have the desire to carry whatever she bought for the rest of the day).

Familiar hair, however, told her that perhaps not everyone she knew was busy today.

Naruto looked quite pleased with himself as he walked down the streets of Konoha but she did make note of his slow pace and the bandages that covered most of his torso and a good part of his upper arms. She could guess pretty confidently that he had some on his legs too.

He spotted her before she had a chance to approach him.

"Ah, Shizune, it's been a while. You've been well I hope?"

"Yes, quite well, thank you. It's good to see you again, Naruto. You seem pretty pleased."

"I am, things have been going quite well." His response made her think of Tsunade's mood when she asked for his medical records. Unlike he master's cheerfulness, however, she had a feeling his good fortune would be continuing.

"I'm glad to hear that. Were you doing anything today?"

"No, is there something you needed?"

"Ah, no, I was just hoping I might be able to join you. Tsunade-Sama needs some space at the moment so I'm trying to stay out of the compound."

"I see, in that case, I suppose I was just about to find a quiet little restraint and have an early lunch, would you care to join me?"

She gave him a smile. That was going to be at least an hour taken care of, then she'd just have to find something else to occupy her for the remainder of the day.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Fire coursed through her veins with every step but she carried on, determined to get the answers she sought. She should be at home right now, resting in her bed, it's what her mother expected her to be doing, but she couldn't wait any longer and there was only one person who could tell her what she needed to know.

Traces of molten chakra still burned within her flesh and she once again cursed herself for trying to call upon the Kyuubi's-Mito's- chakra during a spar. Not only was it wrong to use something against anyone she wasn't actually fighting but it was foolish to think the Biju would let her when all it wanted was for her to reestablish the connection for them.

She didn't know why but Mito would never harm her brother.

Naruko, on the other hand, would, apparently, and the sight of his bloodied form standing defiant refused to leave her mind. And even if he didn't hate her after that-which he should- Mito certainly did.

She had tried to contact the Biju after the fight but it was in such a rage that she had retreated immediately. She wasn't sure if Mito had noticed her in her fury but she had no desire to find out. Blocking her connection to the sentient mass of chakra had been the only way to stop the horrid, furious screams that had echoed through her head and she very much doubted it would be reopened within the next few days.

Another burst of pain shot through her body, most likely in response to the Biju's anger, and she was immensely grateful that it fell short of the pain she had suffered when first drawing on the chakra. When Mito had been actively trying to stop her using the chakra she had summoned around her it felt like her body was being ripped to shreds as it melted in the sun.

Now it was merely a burning thorough her body.

She could deal with that.

Regardless of the degree of pain, time always seemed to slow when one was in discomfort and her journey seemed to stretch for days. At long last, she reached her destination.

The Yamanaka compound had seen far better days. Everything about it seemed run down and tired, much like the Yamanaka heiress herself who came walking from a nearby street.

The blonde paused upon seeing her but continued to make her way to the compound shortly after.

"Did you need something?" Her voice was weary and defeated but there was still a spark of pride behind it, almost as if she was counting the fact that she was still holding on as some small victory.

Naruko struggled momentarily for words.

"I need to know…"

"About…?"

"Naruto." The Yamanaka seemed to flinch back as if struck upon hearing his name and quickly looked around as if ensuring he wasn't present.

"You seemed to know him, I had hoped you might be able to tell me what's happened to him." Continued Naruko.

Ino's eyes softened slightly, bordering on pitying, and she ushered her fellow Gennin into the compound.

"I suppose, since you're Uzumaki, this matter could be passed off as clan business, especially considering the subject."

Ino led her straight to the main house and up the stairs, passing various groups of Yamanaka clan members scurrying around. It reminded Naruko of some of the lower levels of the Hokage tower.

Almost as if anticipating such a thought, Ino took it upon herself to explain.

"We'll talk about why later, but right now I'm leading the Yamanaka. Mother and Father moved into a guest house and have turned the main house into an administration building of sorts."

"Is all this really necessary for one clan?" Asked the Uzumaki heiress.

"For one running properly? No. The Yamanaka clan, unfortunately, is not running properly. I've been doing my best to turn things around but at most I've managed to stall for time."

"I see."

Ino shot her a sad glance.

"No, you don't. You have no idea."

Reaching a door they were greeted by another member of the clan holding a small stack of folders and a mug of coffee. Taking both, Ino thanked the man and moved into her office. Stacking the folders neatly on the desk and taking a seat in the large armchair, Ino gestured towards one of the other seats which Naruko quickly took.

"So, what did you want to know?" Sitting in such a large chair made the young Yamanaka seem even smaller and reinforced the feeling of weary defeat that clung to her image.

"You tried to warn me about Nii-Kun, I want to know why."

"You didn't believe me before," Ino raised a brow as she began idly sorting through the papers on her desk. She had managed to get some work done that morning before her team met but she'd still be here close to midnight. Luckily she had coffee, it was one of the only luxuries she allowed herself. "What changed?"

"I sparred with Nii-Kun-"

"Gods above, are you alright?!" The immediate concern in the girl's voice was both comforting and slightly scary. Did she really think so poorly of her brother?

"I-I'm fine, I wasn't injured." Ino looked at her in disbelief.

"You must be one hell of a Kunoichi." She managed to stammer out after a time. "He would tear me to shreds."

A slight blush dusted Naruko's cheeks as she thought of that morning.

"He could have, he avoided drawing blood. My top was cut apart."

"I find it surprising that he would show such mercy ."

"I want to say it's because we're family," Naruko admitted. "But I think it's more likely because we sparred before the team meetings and he wasn't going to take me away from my team."

"That sounds more like him. All he needed to do was show you that he had the power to end you." She gave a bitter chuckle. "We Yamanaka have learned that lesson well."

"Really?"

"Right now, we are nothing. We have no money, no missions, and no support. Konoha's populace has been turned against us and fellow Shinobi have distanced themselves as much as possible."

"That's horrible."

"That's your brother. He's the one who did this, just because I couldn't keep my damn mouth shut."

"He wouldn't-!"

"He did. The people of Konoha refuse to believe us about the Wolves, they think we made them up to save face, but I assure you, they are very real."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Your brother has some very dangerous friends. We learned that after I ended up turning him against us. And while they might have stopped, we continue to pay for my foolishness."

Naruko didn't want to believe what she was hearing but it seemed to fit too well with the person she had seen just that morning. The person who had been her brother. She didn't know what he was now, but she would find out.

With grim determination she demanded.

"Tell me everything."

And so she did.

* * *

 **And that concludes act XXI, I'll see you all next week.**


	22. The Pieces Move

**And we have yet another chapter. Time really seems to be flying lately.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Not much more to say here, so enjoy the show.**

* * *

It was anger that she eventually settled on

Guilt lay heavy on her shoulders, sadness on her heart, but it was anger which allowed her to focus past her own mistakes and the suffering they had caused her son.

He was homeless because of her, but others could have taken him in.

He was hurt, but Tsunade could have healed him.

He was suspected of treason, but he should have been trusted.

He was at odds with the Yamanaka, but someone should have stepped in to keep things from going out of hand.

He forsook his name, but there should have been someone to guide him with clan politics.

He became an enemy of the Yamanaka, he should have immediately received support from some of the other clans.

When she could focus on the supposed failures of others she could overlook her own, for if she were to think of the ways her mistakes had harmed her son sorrow would consume her. She couldn't let that happen, couldn't surrender to misery after all her son had been through. No, now was the time to make things right, to show him that it really had been a series of mistakes and that she was willing to fix the damages they caused.

And so, when she directed her attention to the actions of others in her absence the guilt ebbed away, replaced by an unholy fury that threatened to make Hi no Kuni's namesake quite literal.

It would be nothing compared to the thousand suns that burned beneath her breast demanding to be freed as retribution for the suffering of her first born.

Had Yugao not pushed her back down in her seat with a reminder that she was in her son's apartment she would have gone on a rampage then and there, lashing out at everyone in the village in a blind rage that was likely to end with her either dead or locked away.

But while the flame had been temporarily snuffed, her rage remained. A grim cold was left in the absence of the suns, one that sapped away any thoughts of happiness and left her with nothing but a desire to cause pain to those who wronged her son, be it directly or indirectly.

The razor-sharp ice that filled her heart demanded blood.

And Kushina would be happy to spill it.

Of course, she was also intelligent enough to realize she couldn't be as impulsive as was she normally. It was such impulsive action that had led to her son's suffering in the first place, more could certainly do no good.

Uzumaki heat would not suit her in this situation, her wrath would have to be frozen.

The only question remaining, of course, would be where her wrath would be directed first. Kurenai came to mind but was quickly dismissed. Yes, the woman had failed her, but she had to admit that she had only requested that she check up on her son and offer help. She may not have taken him in, but she had no way to know if she had been aiding him. The fact that she knew of his apartment showed that they at least had contact, which was more than she could say for others.

Tsunade was one of those 'others', one that, as far as she could tell, never made contact with her son. Some might say she was jumping to conclusions but with Yugao mentioning that she rarely left her compound and a lack of updates from the woman it wasn't hard to see that Naruto had not seen his godmother. He could have gone to the compound but she had never told him of his godmother, knowing that there was a good chance he would never meet the nomadic drunk. She mentioned her in the letter she left for him but that really didn't help anyone sealed in the compound as it was.

Clan friends were next. The Uzumaki had always had good relations with the Aburame in Konoha and were pretty close to the Inuzuka whose pack loyalty was very much like their own belief that family was more important than anything else. She might be able to understand them not helping him with the Yamanaka after he had surrendered the Uzumaki name, but there was no reason they couldn't help him before things came to that.

He probably would have fit in well enough with the Aburame, though she had to grudgingly admit that while the two clans were on good terms, they weren't all that close. Going out of their way to help him after she had left with no prior warning to them wasn't a very Aburame action. They, like the Inuzuka with their pack and the Uzumaki with their family, were concerned primarily for the hive. Naruto was not a member of their hive, such a spontaneous act of kindness and goodwill towards an outsider wouldn't make much sense to them.

And they couldn't have thought about bettering their relations with the Uzumaki, either. As far as they could tell Naruto was unwanted. In fact, it may be because of that they stayed away, juts in case they might draw the ire of her and her daughter by aiding him.

The Inuzuka were likely to be of a similar mindset. After all, if the Uzumaki pack didn't want him, why would they want him in theirs?

Of course, whether or not that was even close to the truth remained unknown and trying to justify it on their behalf just made her more angry.

That anger had just one last target;

The Yamanaka.

It was they who caused him, indirectly as it may have been, to cast away the Uzumaki name and it was they who publically stood against him. Any enemy of her son's was an enemy of Uzumaki Kushina.

And that made them the perfect target for her rage.

* * *

Only the light scratching of a pen broke the silence of the room as Yamanaka Ino continued to work. It had been some time since she had finished telling her tale and yet Naruko couldn't bring herself to move. The Yamanaka heiress didn't seem bothered by it as she continued to make her way through the stack of papers on her desk, in fact, Naruko had a feeling the girl-no, young woman- was enjoying the company, silent as it was, while she worked.

Looking at the amount of work the girl had in trying to run her clan added to the career she was trying to start as a Kunoichi it wasn't surprising that she just didn't have the time for social interaction. Just being in the presence of someone else was likely a very welcome change for the heiress.

But it wasn't thoughts of the young woman's social life that had her unmoved from her seat, rather, thoughts of her brother's dealings with the clan ran through her head. Her heart may have called out in disbelief, but she knew it to be true.

Her brother had always been prideful, though avoiding most people it was seldom seen, and she had, at one point, liked to consider herself his pride. And while that may have changed, it would seem that his prideful nature had not. The Yamanaka heiress had struck at his pride and in retaliation he had crushed them.

He had built himself an army, the heiress had claimed, for the sole purpose of crushing his opponents into the dust. Kept in the dark as they were, most of Konoha's populace didn't even believe of their existence and claims of this shadow army had only served to lower the reputation of the Mindwalkers in the eyes of Konoha.

She had to wonder if he would have reacted in such a way should she have ben harmed in some way. Before she had left with her mother the answer was certainly yes, but now, after leaving him for four years, she had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't lift a finger.

From knowledge of his interrogation at the hands of Ino's father, leaked to the heiress by the man himself, to the suspicion that surrounded his bringing of Yamanaka Tatsuki's corpse to the clan head and the subsequent accusations of murder and cries for blood it was easy to tell she had missed a lot while she was away.

As much as she wished it wasn't true, one could not deny that it was all too easy for these things to change her beloved brother. Her own interactions pointed towards it being true.

And, admittedly, it scared her.

Just how much had he really changed?

What else had happened to him that the Yamanaka heiress didn't know of?

And for how much of his misfortune did he blame the family that left him?

Standing up, she thanked the Yamanaka heiress for her time before showing herself out of the compound. Her mother would need to know.

It took her a few minutes to get home, or perhaps it had been hours, maybe even seconds. Time seemed to have lost its hold on her as rampant thoughts pulled her mind in a different direction with each step.

She found her mother in the study, hastily penning a letter with a sense of urgency she hadn't seen in a very long time. When the Uzumaki matriarch turned to look at her there was a fire in her eyes. Not one that spoke solely of determination, but mainly one of rage and vengeance.

"M-mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?" The way she answered through her teeth was all the confirmation Naruko needed. Her mother was obviously struggling to keep her rage in check which meant whatever it was she was doing was extremely important.

"I-" Naruko took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. "I learned what happened to Nii-Kun."

Her mother seemed slightly surprised by that but instead of asking what had happened simply inquired as to how she had come to learn it. Evidently she herself had recently learned from someone else.

"I talked to Yamanaka Heiress, Ino. She told me what's been happening." Her mother immediately scowled upon the mention of the clan of Mindwalkers.

"I'm sure the little bitch told you all sorts of lies." The venom in her words took Naruko by surprise. She couldn't ever remember her mother speaking with such hate and loathing for anyone.

"No, I'm pretty sure she was telling the truth. She didn't paint herself in a very favorable light-"

"Probably just wanted pity." Her mother interrupted.

"It didn't seem that way."

"The Yamanaka have always been manipulators." She said as she stood from her desk and gathered a small stack of letters. "You shouldn't believe them."

"But shouldn't we at least hear them out to decide for ourselves?"

"No."

"So you don't want to know what she said?"

"It doesn't' matter, the Yamanaka are going to be taken care of soon enough."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. I need to get in contact with a few people. I'll be back later."

And with that she was gone. The information she had gathered and her opinions on it dismissed, Naruko wondered if this was how Naruto first felt when they had vanished from his life. Of course, if that was the case, she would also have to wonder if her mother really would be back later.

* * *

Deep within the blackness she seethed. She had been so close- so damn close!

With great effort on her part she had been able to watch the spar from Naruko's eyes, was at long last able to gaze upon the young man who meant everything to her. Her warden had been there, within reach of the girl, and yet she was still trapped here unable to touch him.

It had been maddening to feel so oh so familiar chakra signature, but to see him to? Never before had she felt so frustrated.

Of course, that moment where he stopped to look at Naruko- look at her- had made it all worth it. His eyes hadn't been hard at that moment, filled instead with a slight respect at how well Naruko coped after the loss of her top, and to see that through the girl's eyes made her heart soar.

She had been so happy, in fact, that she ended up missing her host's use of chains against her beloved warden. There was rage and distress at the sight of his blood but a great joy when he used the chakra chains she had taught him to overpower his sister's.

Being a being of chakra, she was concerned with the sight of his black chains and the way they seemed to suck in light rather than glow as a chakra manifestation should have but she had no time to worry about it when her host began calling upon her chakra.

Refilling her reserves after her warden had stopped such a draining attack she could have understood, healing any wounds she may have received she would have been okay with, enhancing reflexes using her chakra like a small burst of adrenaline would have been acceptable, but the second her host dared to think she'd be allowed to access any form of the Biju cloak she brought upon her the wrath of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Her wrath was felt.

They had a simple agreement. Naruko would return her to her warden and she, in return, would not just allow access to her near infinite stores of chakra, but would aid her in using them. The girl had never before experienced the true might of her chakra until the moment she had stopped protecting her from it.

Hopefully it was a lesson the girl would not soon forget.

But, lesson learned or not, it did little to change the fact that this would make it harder for Naruko to uphold her end of the deal, and such a simple part it was, too! So long as she was back with her warden the girl would have unlimited, assisted access to the most powerful source of chakra available.

And then she pulled this shit.

She was stopped from using it, painfully, but that was not sufficient for her mistake. Proper punishment would serve as a motivator, and what better punishment than the one you inflict on yourself? She would continue to allow the girl access, of course, but no longer would she be aiding her. It would be painful, it would be difficult, and she would have no one to blame but herself each time she accessed the chakra of the great Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Maybe then she'd realize just how serious she was about being returned to her wonderful warden.

And if she didn't?

Well, Mito would just have to take a more active role in convincing the girl that this was important-

Not just for Mito, but for her own health.

After all, Mito could do some nasty things with her chakra.

* * *

It wasn't until three that afternoon that Naruto and Shizune went their separate ways. As soon as Shizune had disappeared into the crowds of Konoha's market district Naruto turned his attention to a nearby wolf. He shouldn't have been able to see them, which meant the Wolf intended to be seen. Such suspicion was confirmed when they pointed towards a nearby alley.

It would appear something had come up.

Making his way through the masses of people he slipped between two buildings and traveled back until the shadows hid him completely. It was only seconds until he was joined by the Wolf who promptly kneeled before him.

"Naruto-Sama, Mai-Taichou and Sai-Taichou await you in your office."

"And did they say why?"

"No, Naruto-Sama." The Wolf shook his head. "But they said you would want to know as soon as possible. I believe it might have something to do with the latest report from one of our global operatives but I don't know where the report came from or what it said."

"Very well, return to whatever it was you were doing beforehand."

"By your command, Naruto-Sama!"

With a bow he was gone and Naruto walked back into the light of the afternoon sun. If Mai and Sai thought it was important it was going to be important. In fact, if it was important enough to be brought to his attention like this than it was beyond important. As such he wasted no time in reaching the Den and making his way to his office where his two most trusted Wolves stood waiting for him.

"Naruto-Sama" they both greeted him, Mai sending him a faint smile as Sai snapped into a salute.

"Sai, Mai, I hear the two of you needed to speak with me." He took a seat behind his desk and gestured to the seats before it.

"That's right, Naruto-Sama." Confirmed Mai as she took a seat and turned to face Sai. "Do you want to start?"

"Might as well." Came his response. "We recently received a report from Keigo who we sent to monitor the situation in Kirigakure no Sato and Mizu no Kuni. While it has nothing to do with the bloodline purges or the rebellion yet, it does mention an opportunity we would be foolish not to look into."

"Oh?" Naruto raised a brow. "What did he find?"

"Nami no Kuni is currently under the control of a man by the name of Gato, a shipping tycoon. With his control over the ports there and his hands in all sorts of black market operations he's become one of the richest- if not the richest- men in the world."

"And how is this good for us? You are not suggesting we try to take him out, are you? You should know that would be suicide for the Wolves, the rest of the world would rip us apart."

"We understand that, Naruto-Sama." Mai answered. "Keigo reports that there is a bridge builder attempting to break Gato's hold on the country and might try to get in contact with Konoha for protection. If we were to help instead we'd have Nami no Kuni in our debt."

Scratching his chin, Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"You're looking at this from the wrong angle." He spoke. "While it's a good opportunity to aid the people of Wave, it's also a good opportunity to aid Gato."

The two Wolves shared disbelieving looks.

"I- I don't mean to question you Naruto-Sama, but while you have supported bandits and warlords in the past, do you really want to do that here when there's another option?" She asked him. Next to her Sai gave a nod, showing that he too shared her thoughts.

"My options here are help the people of Wave on the chance that we may be able to benefit from it or help Gato, start getting paid immediately for our services and eventually take over."

"It would be a bit hard taking over if the people loathed us. An iron fist approach like Gato wouldn't work for us; we don't have nearly as many friends as he does." Noted Sai.

"Part of taking over is undermining Gato. If our people are there under his authority then they can help protect the citizens from whatever other hired muscle he has. We gain the reputation of fair enforcers on Gato's paycheck and when we eventually turn on him the people will be more likely to accept our control. We can let them do as they see fit for the most part, what we really need is the ports. With them under control we have instant influence."

"There's also the matter of whatever funds Gato has with him at the moment." Commented Mai, bringing a smile to Naruto's face.

"That's just a pretty little bonus. We'll need to recall some of our operatives though, how go things in the Land of Lightning?"

"We're not making much progress, unfortunately." Confessed Sai.

"We're supporting two bandit groups at the moment over there, no?"

"That's correct."

"Well then, choose the weakest one, support him fully, wipe out the competition, and leave him be. We can come back later to pick up where we left off. If he happens to get wiped out, so be it. This opportunity is far more valuable."

"I'm sure the Wolves will be pleased." Sai knew that even with their current tasks the Wolves under his control were getting restless. They needed something big, something that would make full use of their talents. Being hired muscle for warlords and small time bandits was better than nothing but a far cry from what they wanted.

"They will certainly be well fed if Gato has even a fraction of his wealth stored in Nami no Kuni. So well, in fact, that we may have to have some more Wolves to keep any of it from going to waste. " He paused, looking at the two sat before him. "And that brings us to the next matter that needs attention. Sai, you now have complete control of the Wolves. You will answer to Mai, who will keep me informed."

"Of course, Naruto-Sama, but may I ask why?"

"I have recently come to control a second group, one which I will be referring to as the Flock. Their leader will also answer to Mai, who will manage both groups and report to me."

"And who is their leader?" Asked Mai.

"Hinata." The two of them stared at him as if he had told them he was going to become a hooker.

"Our timid little lamb?" Mai was the first to regain their ability to speak.

"And that's why I call it the Flock. It would seem my removal of her first seal and the subsequent disabling of her second has led some of the branch members to believe that fate itself has decreed that she was not to join the branch family. I admit, it sounds quite strange, but I can understand a group coming to such a conclusion. Of course, being Hyuuga, they've taken it farther and now believe that Hinata is a goddess."

Sai choked on air.

"A _Goddess_?" He managed to get out.

"Indeed. They know of her Wolf guards but not of us, I intend for it to stay that way. But, what that means is that I have new forces here in Konoha, so you can focus your attention outside our walls. I want you to begin recruiting more. Find a few of the Wolves who know the most about the training you yourselves went through and bring more into our packs. We'll have to apply seals to them but I should be able to replicate its affects properly."

"I understand, did you want all your guards removed?"

"No, leave a few, no more than four, but we should be able to stop watching Konoha now that we have new eyes."

"Of course, will that be all?"

"It should be, you are dismissed." Naruto turned his attention to Mai. "I need you to make contact with Hinata, inform her of what I said here. I would recommend waiting for her after tomorrow's team training so that other Hyuuga don't see you. We need them to believe their goddess is running things here or we may lose them."

"I understand, would you have anything else of me?"

"No, you're free to go. Just know that I've already given Hinata orders for the Flock which she should have passed on by now. She isn't likely to have anything else for you for quite some time, but ensure she maintains control. Having influence within the Hyuuga clan may prove to be an invaluable boon to us."

"Of course, by your command, Naruto-Sama." She gave a quick bow before leaving him in his office.

Leaning back in his chair, Naruto gave a deep sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose. The Hyuuga had been unexpected and the opportunity in wave provided a chance to start playing on a global scale far earlier than he had thought possible. He was done with the Yamanaka, they should serve to keep other clans dismissing him if he attempted to initiate contact but he still needed to choose one that would be able to benefit his pack.

Of course, then there was the mess with his returning family. Kushina wasn't going to give up, she was too damn stubborn, but he really didn't want anything to do with the woman. He had his own life now, his own family, and she didn't have a place in it yet.

Nor did he intend to give her one.

But she would no doubt try and he was absolutely certain it would end up causing problems for him in the future. There was nothing he could do about it though, save for having her killed, but not only did he lack any desire to end her life, he also doubted his ability to have it done. Sure, his wolves were just about equivalent to ANBU but Kushina was a highly skilled Jounin. The chances of losing some of his Wolves were too high and in the event that they did manage to kill her the leaf would be that much weaker.

And so he'd simply have to deal with her and whatever it was she did as it happened.

While she wouldn't be striking against him- at least not knowingly- and was certainly not what he would consider an opponent, he still loathed the idea of letting someone else have the first move. Not only did it give them the advantage but the wait was agonizing.

He'd need to find something else to occupy his time for a while until she showed her hand and hope that it wasn't at an inopportune time.

Though, with his luck, she was very likely to choose the absolute worst time to try something.

He gave another sigh. Things were starting to pick up and yet there was nothing he could do but wait.

He really needed a hobby.

* * *

Something was very wrong in the Hyuuga clan.

That's not to say things were ever normal within the clan, but as of late things just seemed off.

She was the heiress, the future head of the mighty Hyuuga clan and yet ever since her sister had been marked she had actually received less respect from the branch family. She would punish them, of course, but all they ever did was smile and accept it, as if there was some great joke she wasn't privy to.

And then there was her sister's mark. It had disappeared, for fucks sake! Seals don't just remove themselves and it had obviously taken hold because she herself had used it against her sister and yet it had simply vanished. They marked her again after that and punished her for its disappearance, but the very next day her new seal had stopped working.

There wasn't anything they could do at that point because there was no way to remove the seal and none of the Hyuuga were skilled enough with seals to attempt fixing the disfunctioning one already on her brow.

There had been some talk soon after of the Yamanaka heiress trying to make her sister do something –what, exactly, she was not aware- but the elders and her father seemed too frustrated by the odd seal to care. When one Uzumaki Naruto stepped in and forsook his name in order to go against the clan of Mindwalkers the Hyuuga washed their hands of the matter.

They were represented, in a way, and really didn't care who came out on top –though it was doubtful that anything would actually happen- but she was certain they hoped something would happen to the disgraced former heiress during the conflict.

Instead, they found themselves surprised when the Yamanaka were brought to their knees. Her father had warned her that day that while the boy named Naruto might not be all that powerful, especially after renouncing his clan name, he obviously had some powerful allies. That day's lesson had ended up focusing on alliances and diplomacy, one that her father claimed to be sorely tempted to allow her a chance to try it in the real world using the formerly Uzumaki boy.

In the end he had decided against it, not wanting to be publically against the Yamanaka. That, in turn, led to another lesson of the balance kept between the clans of Konohagakure no Sato. It was not one of the more enjoyable lessons she had been given.

But moving past that, recently the branch family-or most of it, anyway- seemed far more cheerful than they should have been and certainly more cheerful than was proper for any Hyuuga to show. Something had happened, or was happening, and judging by how content her sister appeared to be lately she'd be willing to bet she was at the center of it.

And Hyuuga Hanabi, heiress of the Hyuuga clan, was going to find out what.

* * *

It could have been left by anyone. Yugao had been hear earlier, Anko and Kurenai had access, and Mai could have easily had one of the Wolves leave it on her behalf. Despite that, he knew even before opening it that it had to be from his godfather.

Unfortunately, he still didn't know who that was. His only real clue was the mention of the Kusanagi in the letter that was left with Mōryō's Tooth and while there were plenty of references of it throughout history there was nothing about it recently. Or, at least, nothing about it recently that he had access too.

And that only made him more curious as to this mysterious godparent.

Opening the box that fit easily in one hand he withdrew a golden amulet. Tight rings were bent into a circle that reminded him of a coiled serpent. The middle of the medallion was empty space and it was attached to a simple black cord. At first glance, this was probably the simplest of gifts he had ever received.

A quick look at the note that accompanied it, however, would prove that wrong.

 _The Amulet of Aū first belonged to the high priest of Aū, the golden serpent god of the sun. When Aū's light shines upon it, one may offer their blood as tribute to the Great Serpent in return for the aid of one of his children. All who wear this representation of the Serpent God are protected from his kind, even against those commanded by a Snake Sage._

And it all clicked into place.

The picture of the snake, an amulet of the serpents, a sword considered cursed, trying to aid him by placing explosive corpses within the Yamanaka compound, and information blocked to those not high ranking enough to know. Who could have obtained the legendary Kusanagi but him? And who could have his information so restricted but the greatest traitor to ever abandon Konoha?

It had to be, then. There was no other option;

His Godfather was Orochimaru of the Sannin.

He really didn't know what to think of that.

But, quite curiously, despite having always signed his letter as his godfather, this one read ' _Your loving godparent.'_

How odd.

* * *

 **Thanks for visiting, I look forward to seeing you all at the showing of the next act.**


	23. Fate of the Yamanaka

**Only managed to fit half the scenes I had planned in this one so we unfortunately don't get to see Kakashi this week. On the bright side, however, I can say with utmost certainty that he'll be in the next chapter.**

 **Probably.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's start the show.**

* * *

It had been a week since she had sent off her letters to the Imperial Fire Court and Kushina found herself rather pleased with the response she received. The ground she would stand on wouldn't be the most stable, in fact, it was rather pathetic, but she had been assured that the Yamanaka were in no position to oppose her.

Had they been the same as when she left she wouldn't be able to pull something like this but it was well known that they had fallen on hard times. She should be able to manage this. Of course, that lead to the question of what exactly she hopped to be able to do with such a favorable position.

The Yamanaka had nothing that could be of value to her, her daughter, or her son save, perhaps, the members itself. She may have been able to get away with the maneuver she was going to attempt, but trying to take its members as either servants or slaves was never going to work and would completely waste the opportunity she had.

She wasn't going to be able to do anything directly against the heiress of her father because of the same problem. Her claims were flaky at best, she would never get the necessary support from the other clans to be able to do anything against the girl or Inoichi.

There was, however, a way to get around that- to a degree, of course. The clan of Mindwalkers was practically destitute, but she could fix that. The Uzumaki coffers were spilling forth fortunes she could never hope to spend. All it would take was a little bit of the Uzumaki treasury and the Yamanaka would be nearly as strong as they were before.

But even better, they would be hers and, most importantly, her son's. With her having complete control over the Yamanaka and their finances she could let Naruto do as he pleased with the clan without fear of consequence. Justice would be served, she'd get to see the Yamanaka suffer at the hands of her son, and she couldn't think of any way that could possibly be better to gain favor from her estranged son.

What gift was better than the deliverance of one's enemies before you?

Gathering the letters she had received she stacked them with what she had been working on for the past seven days. She paid no mind to the early hour as she threw on some of her finest clothes and picked up her papers. She would take care of this immediately, there wasn't a second to spare. Already ten minutes had passed since she had been delivered the letters by a courier, far too long in her opinion.

Every second she didn't have this done was another second without her son.

They had been apart long enough.

The clock read half-past three as she left her home and the night air bit at her skin. The smile on her face, however, would not be removed.

It was time to summon the council.

* * *

Nothing good could come from a summons so early in the morning, her father had expressed such enough times throughout her childhood for Ino to remember it well. It wasn't until now, when she received one herself, did she begin to understand.

Throwing on a clean set of clothes she rushed out of her room. It was never good to be late to a council meeting, scheduled or otherwise- her father had taught her that, too. At one point she may have spent quite some time prettying herself up with a myriad of cosmetics but these days she didn't have the time or money required.

She would have also worn something nice, but that was definitely out of the question now. Almost all of her better outfits had been sold off to support the clan and only her best remained in her possession. Well, it was kept under heavy lock within the house, but at least it was still here. Of course, she wasn't about to be wearing it anytime soon. It was kept just in case something popped up that required such formal attire but unless the Daimyo was about to stop by for a visit or she was going to get an invitation to the party of one of the High Lords of the Imperial Fire Court of Hi no Kuni it was going to remain exactly where it was.

She could say with a fair bit of certainty that neither of the two was about to happen, especially considering the current state of her clan. She'd be lying if she claimed there was even a smidgen of a chance of that happening back before she brought the ire of the Wolves upon her clan, now that she had it was beyond impossible.

Her father was waiting for her by the door and she quickly put on her shoes. He handed her a quick breakfast to eat as they walked without a word and opened the door. This was clan business and, as such, her father would not be treating her as his daughter. She was the heiress and acting head of the Yamanaka clan and he took the position of an adviser.

That's not to say he didn't treat her like a daughter regularly- he did, albeit somewhat strictly ever since she provoked the wolves- but when it wise time to conduct clan business it was almost as if he locked away his memories of being her father deep within his mind. With his skill in the mind arts and unrestricted access to the most secret of Yamanaka techniques it wouldn't surprise her if it turned out to be true.

The two made their way hastily to the Hokage tower. It was frowned upon to use Shinobi techniques for one's arrival, usually because it brought the ANBU from the woodwork and delayed everything horribly. That was okay with Ino though, it gave her time to collect herself in preparation for the upcoming meeting.

The messenger hadn't been able to provide any information on this unusually called session and that just increased her worry. She was going in with little to no information and she didn't like it. Was there an emergency? Had Jiraiya sent a report that needed to be shared with the clans immediately?

Had the Wolves struck against someone else?

Much to her shame, she was hoping it was the last one. If she could get confirmation that they had moved on from the stripped carcass of the Yamanaka she could sleep a lot easier at night. Hell, if they were that fortunate they might have a chance to start building themselves up again rather than treading water and hoping the threat left the shore.

Of course, the best would be none of the above, but she really couldn't think of anything else it might be. Another clan looking to join Konoha, perhaps? A surprise birthday for the Daimyo?

That last one was just ridiculous.

Everyone knew that the Daimyo's birthday had been last month.

It took a few more minutes of walking until they reached the Hokage tower and were granted admittance by one of the ANBU guards. The council room was on the second floor and upon arrival they were quickly seated. It was not long after that the council room finished filling up with the various clan heads of Konoha.

No, that wasn't quite right. Ino frowned as she looked at those who had been called. It would seem as though the lesser clans were absent. The Yamanaka would have been part of that group if not for the number of them but they were still toeing the line. All the greater clans were present, as was the high council. The Hokage, understandably, was not yet present.

Ino doubted the Sandaime was going to be pleased about this because if he had been the one to call the meeting he'd have been the first one seated. Instead a messenger would have been tasked with waking and informing the Hokage who had very likely just retired for the night.

She knew very well how long into the night the paperwork could take.

It was five minutes later that a weary looking Kage entered the room and made immediately for his seat at the table of the high council. With a wave of his hand the council room doors were sealed under ANBU guard.

"A meeting of the greater clans has been called." Addressed the Hokage. "Would they who called this meeting forth please stand?"

A grinning Kushina stood up, doing her best to keep her expression schooled in a manner befitting one of her status.

She was failing miserably.

"I called this meeting, Hokage-Sama." The Kage gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

"Very well. Council member Uzumaki, for what reasons have you called upon us this morning?"

"Clan Uzumaki holds grudge against clan Yamanaka." She declared.

Hiruzen frowned and spared a glance to the high council. Homura and Koharu shared uncertain looks before nodding at him to proceed but the thoughtful look on Danzou's face gave him pause. Eventually he too nodded but the look of uncertainty never vanished. It only reinforced Hiruzen's belief that this was going to end up causing trouble somehow. Or, at the very least, had the potential to cause a lot of trouble.

He also had a pretty good feeling that any trouble would be in some way connected to Naruto.

"I see. The floor is yours, council member Kushina." The woman sent him a grateful smile before flashing a vicious grin to the Yamanaka heiress.

Ino had a really bad feeling about this. Her eyes moved to the clans that had once allied with her house and their nervousness told her all she needed to know. There would be no aid for her or her clan today.

"Honorable council, esteemed clan heads, I thank you for answering with such haste despite the early hour and apologize for drawing you from your beds. Last week I sent for council from some of the members of the Imperial Fire Court-" Ino had to hold back a groan. Saying something like that would make it seem as though the Fire Court supported her actions. She didn't even know what the woman was after and things already seemed grim for her clan.

"- and have just received a response not an hour ago. Naturally, I wished to settle this as early as possible so that we can all move on with our lives." She continued. Everyone there knew whatever it was she wanted could have waited a few hours but none voiced this opinion. The clans were obligated to meet when called by those of equal or greater standing, regardless of the time. If Uzumaki Kushina, head of the Uzumaki clan wanted to call a meeting every ten minutes she could and being one of the greater clans all other great clans and any of the lesser clans she called were to attend.

"Two years ago hostility from the Yamanaka drove my son, Uzumaki Naruto, to renounce his clan name and declare them his enemies. Naruto is my firstborn son, one of three Uzumaki in the clan, and the only male Uzumaki. Such a loss is devastating and threatens the future of my clan. I have come before you all today to demand recompense."

Ino stood.

"Are you claiming that Uzumaki Naruto was unable to make his own decisions?" She asked the older woman.

"I am claiming that he should not have had to have made such a decision in order to keep our clan out of the conflict your clan was instigating."

"He did such to keep your clan out of conflict, and yet here you are. Does this not show that you care little for his choices and have no respect for the sacrifices he made for you and your blood?"

Kushina blinked for a moment in surprise. For a twelve year old girl she was pretty good at this.

"It is because of his choices that we choose to involve ourselves in this matter. Even if not in name, he is Uzumaki by blood and any foe of his is an enemy of my clan."

Ino couldn't come up with anything to say to that at the moment and a quick look to her father showed that he didn't either.

"Very well, the Yamanaka bear witness to your claim for recompense. How judge the esteemed clan heads?"

Ino's gaze swept over the assembled mass and her heart fell when old allies shied away in shame.

"The Aburame accept the validity of the grudge." There was reason for a grudge and nothing else to it.

"The Inuzuka recognize the grudge." Your pack was your pack, she cared little for legal matters when it came to family.

"The Akimichi bear witness to the grudge." He was wise enough not to try going against the others at this point.

"The Hyuuga approve of the grudge." Approval? That wasn't good.

"The Nara recognize the Grudge."

"Through the unanimous acceptance of the clans, the High council acknowledges the grudge between the Uzumaki and the Yamanaka. What reparations do you seek, council member Kushina?"

"As is well known, the Yamanaka have fallen upon hard times lately and have little to nothing of value. I will gain no pleasure simply seeing them punished-" A damn lie and everyone in the room knew it. "- and so I can only demand their vassalage."

All present were understandably shocked by such a demand, but none more than Ino and her father.

There were many concerns with this but one stood out far beyond the others in Ino's mind.

"Tell me, council member Kushina, what is your relation with the Wolves?" Both the Hyuuga and Inuzuka clan heads scoffed but Kushina seemed confused.

"Who?"

Ino looked at her incredulously. Did she really know nothing of the group that was so close to her son? That led her to the next question.

"I see. In that case, what is your current relationship with your son?"

"I fail to see how that relates to the matter at hand." Kushina's eyes had narrowed dangerously.

"Your son declared us his enemy and the Wolves tore us to shreds. I know that even if he's not one of the Wolves that he has very good relations to them. What I need to know is whether or not allowing my clan to become the vassal clan of the Uzumaki is going to bring his wrath down upon us once more."

"There are no Wolves." Claimed Tsume. "Your questions are pointless."

"Believe what you will, council member Inuzuka, but I am well aware of the existence of the Wolves and will not further endanger my clan just because you have had the fortune of avoiding their ire."

"While I believe the Yamanaka made up the Wolves to save face, her second question is still valid." Interjected Hiashi. "Genin Naruto is currently against the Yamanaka clan. Considering the fact that he's brought them to their knees the heiress does well to be cautious in any matter that may concern him. So, how is your current relationship with your son council member Uzumaki?"

"It's," She paused and hung her head in shame. "Well, it isn't the best right now."

"I see." Ino frowned and looked to her father but he gave no signs as to the decision she should make. "If the Yamanaka were to swear fealty to the Uzumaki clan, would you be able to protect us from your son?"

Kushina hesitated here. She'd have to choose her words carefully. The entire point of this was to let her son do with them as he saw fit, so she couldn't claim the ability to keep them safe from him. She could, however, protect them from him as he was now- clanless.

"As a vassal to the Uzumaki clan you will be ours and we will not allow anyone else to lay a hand upon your clan." It would work well enough. Of course, if she could get Naruto back into the clan he would have full reign amongst the Yamanaka. Hell, she might even be able to arrange a marriage between him and the young Yamanaka heiress. That is, of course, if he wanted it.

The Yamanaka heiress seemed to recognize what she was doing but after a moment of thought continued anyway. Kushina had a feeling that the girl was betting on Naruto not rejoining and couldn't really fault her for it. Not only would it be difficult to convince Naruto to return- though having the Yamanaka under her control should make it much easier- but him staying out of the clan was some of the last hope the clan of Mindwalkers had.

It was quite easy to see that they were far more scared of her son than herself and would happily accept any hardships she might heap upon them if it meant they could avoid her son's wrath.

"Very well." Resigned Ino. "The Yamanaka will swear fealty and accept vassalage to the Uzumaki. I would ask that the meeting be concluded so that our fellow councilmembers may return to their homes as we discuss this new arrangement."

"The request of council member Yamanaka is granted, I call this meeting to a close." The Hokage was only too happy to be done with this. "We thank you all for coming and hope you remain well until our next meeting. Also, I must remind you that until the details concerning the vassalage are decided upon this is to remain silent, even within your own households. Enjoy the rest of your day."

As the room emptied of clan heads Ino turned to her father. Much to her surprise he didn't seem disappointed but in fact rather proud.

"T-Tou-san?"

"You did well, Ino."

"But the clan-"

"Nothing we can do but make the most of it. You've been doing everything you can to help the clan and I'm proud to call you my daughter and the next clan head of the Yamanaka."

She fought valiantly to keep the tears at bay.

"Thank you, daddy."

He gave her a gentle smile. "Go on then, it's time to finish this up. I know you'll keep doing well."

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she stood up and made her way to the high council table where Kushina was waiting with the Hokage. Her face was schooled into a calm seriousness befitting of a clan heiress and with every step she gained confidence.

With grim determination she arrived at the table.

It was time to learn the fate of her clan-

The fate of the Yamanaka.

* * *

Decisions made, her father had offered to make the proper arrangements and allowed Ino to excuse herself from the meeting. She was getting better at running the clan but this was entirely new territory and she was glad for the chance to avoid it a little longer.

Walking out of the council room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the man who leaned against a nearby wall. No doubt he was waiting to learn about the happenings inside.

"Good morning, council member Yamanaka. Finished, are we?"

"High councilor Danzou." She greeted. "The details have been decided upon, my father is currently seeing to the legal arrangements necessary to officiate it."

"Heading home then?"

"Perhaps. Was there something I could help you with?"

"Oh, just a bit of curiosity, you see. No reason to trouble yourself with it."

She folded her arms and quirked a brow.

"Would I be right to assume you want to know the details of the discussion going on within the council chambers?"

"You would be."

"And would you happen to know the whereabouts of Naruto?"

"I might." He rose a brow. "Why might you want to know?"

"Because just like you, I'm sure he'd like to know this morning's details. I intend to tell him."

"I see. He might not react well to the news and I'm sure you aren't exactly his favorite person."

"That's something for me to be concerned about. We seem to both have information the other wants. I'm willing to trade."

Danzou smiled at her.

"I think I like you, council member Yamanaka, you're growing up into a fine young lady."

"I'm sure, do we have a deal?"

"Oh, yes, straight to the point, I see. You remind me of my dealings with Naruto. I'd be happy to make the trade, though I would warn you of the difference in value each information holds."

"To you, perhaps there is a difference, but figuring how this is going to affect Naruto and his Wolves is just as important to the clan as the details surrounding our new vassalage."

"Well spoken. It's a pity that you and Naruto are on bad terms; you'd make quite a pair."

"Perhaps with this they won't be quite so bad. Who knows? Maybe in the future we might find ourselves working together. We're both Shinobi of the Leaf, after all."

A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Even if you don't end up working with him, I think the two of us will get along just fine."

"Then I look forward to it, Elder Danzou. Now, shall we get down to business?"

* * *

As agreed, Danzou had informed her of Naruto's current residence. It was a decent area of the village, nothing special but certainly comfortable. And if there was any doubt as to whether or not this really was Naruto's apartment it was put to rest when a Wolf dropped down in a crouch from the top of the complex when she went for the door.

As if they truly were the animal of their namesake they released a warning growl as they rested one hand on the hilt of their blade. Obviously she was not on the list of accepted visitors.

Holding up both hands to show she was unarmed she did her best to stay calm.

"I have information for Naruto, I need to speak with him."

They didn't respond at first, remaining motionless as the mask sneered at her and the black eyeholes judged her existence. After a moment they nodded and stood, their hand withdrawing from their blade. Turning away from her they knocked on the door and were answered by another wolf mask.

The outer guard leaned in close, likely to explain the situation, and the inner momentarily glanced at her. Giving a final nod the inner guard opened the door wider and beckoned for the clan heiress to enter as the outer guard returned to their post.

She wasn't dead yet, so far so good.

Once she had entered the Wolf- a woman, she noted- motioned for her to remain where she was, presumably so the Wolf could wake her master. A minute later the Wolf returned and guided her to the kitchen where she was prompted to take a seat. It wasn't long after that Naruto entered wearing only a pair of black pants. He took a quick moment to tie his hair back before moving deeper into the kitchen to start coffee.

The three of them waited silently as the coffee brewed. The Wolf seemed unconcerned with the situation, leaning against a wall lazily and a nervous Ino wished she could be so comfortable at the moment. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't even seem to be awake yet. It was understandable considering the time but Ino found it rather odd to see him like this.

When the drinks were done he grabbed two mugs and brought them to a table. After taking a sip from his own he turned to address his guard.

"Now that I'm up there's not much point of you watching over me. You're free to use my bed for the remainder of your shift."

The Wolf seemed torn by the offer, no doubt wanting to ensure his safety, but her master's suggestion eventually won out. With a bow she left, though Ino could have almost sworn there was unnecessary swing in her hips with every step to the bedroom she took. If Naruto noticed he made no sign of it.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence broken only by the sipping of coffee Naruto set his mug to the side and folded his hands on the table.

"So, Genin Yamanaka, what can I do for you?"

"It's council member Yamanaka at the moment, I'm afraid." That immediately earned her a raised brow.

"Oh? And what brings you to my home this morning, Councilwoman?"

"There was a meeting of the greater clans called earlier this morning."

"A peculiar time. Who called it?"

"Uzumaki Kushina." She most certainly had his attention now.

"Is that so? What about it was so important not just to happen at such an inconvenient time for the council but to also drive you to seek me out?"

She took a deep breath.

"As of this morning, the Yamanaka are a vassal clan of the Uzumaki."

"… _What?_ " It came out as a hiss.

"She was trying to use our feud to gain recompense from my clan because it drove you to denounce your clan name. Rather, she succeeded in using it. She managed to get the full acceptance of the clans and the approval of the Hyuuga."

"I see. And what does this vassalage look like for the Yamanaka?"

"She's getting full control of everything. Finances, Shinobi, clan techniques, any political dealings, everything. We've practically become second-rate Uzumaki clan members."

"I would assume she doesn't like you much either, you seem to be in a lot of trouble."

"That much is given, but I was unsue as to just how much trouble we were in."

"And that's why you came here?"

"You are the enemy of the Yamanaka clan and from what I understand do not have any dealings with the Uzumaki now that they've returned. If you were angered by this I feared your wrath and the maws of your Wolves."

He looked thoughtful.

"It would seem as though you've matured greatly. I'm impressed. What else do I need to know?"

"Your mother promised us protection from you. Well, not exactly. When I asked if she could keep us safe from the Wolves in the case that this angered you she promised that no non-Uzumaki would never lay a hand on our clan because we belonged to them now."

"You're saying she's going to try to get me back into the clan."

Ino gave a nod. "Yes, I believe so, but I don't know exactly how the Yamanaka fit in this."

"I don't know what she's thinking, but you were mine." His words sent a strange shiver down her spine. " If you're smart, you'll know that you're still mine and will remain such until I say otherwise."

"Even before she took control I knew the Yamanaka would never go against you again under my headship. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

"You're a smart girl, Ino. Your clan was mine to break down and build ack up, but it would appear as though my plans have been disrupted. A pity too, because I had just started working on returning your clan to its former glory."

"The Hyuuga?"

"Oh? Yes, you are quite perceptive. I have some allies within the clan and was able to get them to start supporting the Yamanaka. I'm impressed you caught on so quickly, it's only been a week."

"Supporters? Oh, right, Hinata. I thought it was odd that Hiashi approved of the vassalage but assumed it was because his support was just to keep Konoha strong. With the Uzumaki coffers we'll be back up in no time, though the reputation will take a while to rebuild."

"As far as I'm aware Hiashi does not know and I'd like to keep it that way. But so long as you say nothing you can rest assured knowing that the Yamanaka clan holds none of my ire."

"And might I ask who does?"

"Kushina. If she thinks she can take what's mine she's in for a rude awakening, but all things in time. For now, I wash my hands of the matter."

"I see. Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

He thought for a moment.

"Are they going public with this or keeping it under wraps?"

"Quiet, for now. She doesn't want to create too big of a stir, especially because we're technically enemies right now."

"I'd offer you the chance to surrender, but that's really out of your hands now, isn't it?"

"It is, though I would if I could. No good comes from this."

"Indeed. But, while you may still be enemies with Naruto, you and your clan are no longer a foe to the Wolves. We aren't about to help you, not when you've been taken from us, but we will not move against you. That said, I expect you to do your best to keep your clan out of my way."

"I'll do what I can. Will the Hyuuga continue to aid us?"

"No." He shook his head. "It was risky enough before and if you could figure it out Hiashi would have noticed soon enough. Besides, with the support of the Uzumaki your clan should be fine. If Hiashi ends up allying himself with Kushina, however, you may find yourself playing a bigger part in this game of ours."

"This game, is it dangerous?"

"At the moment? No. But it will be soon enough."

"Why do you say that?"

"Right now I'm only playing in Konoha, but that will change soon enough." She wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but something about it made her uneasy.

"I wish you luck then. I should probably get going."

"I'll show you out."

The two rose from their chairs and made for the door. Right before she left she turned back to her host.

"Just to be clear, we aren't enemies anymore, right?"

"It accomplishes nothing." He confirmed. "Besides, your clan is practically Uzumaki now. I was an enemy of the Yamanaka."

"I see." She didn't like looking at it that way, but if it kept him from sending his Wolves at her clan then she'd accept it. "I should probably head for my team training now."

"You should go home and get some rest, you could use it. I'm sure your team would understand. I'll be returning to bed myself and I didn't have to attend any meetings this morning."

"But you don't have to attend any later, either." He just shrugged.

"True. Have a good day, Ino."

"You too, Naruto."

With that they parted ways. It wasn't until she had walked for several minutes that what he had said registered in her mind.

' _Wait, isn't that other woman in his bed?'_

She was blushing the entire way home.

* * *

 **And on that rather light note we conclude Act XXIII. I look forward to seeing you all in the audience again next week for Act XXIV.**


	24. An Enticing Offer

**At long last we have completely passed all my other stories. Sealkeeper has had more reviews, favorites, follows, chapters, and words for a very long time but it was only recently that it passed 'Born into Wickedness' in views. I'm still surprised that one managed 300k+ views when it barely passes 20k words.**

 **I've missed a couple reviews in the past few days because the site is being uncooperative but with any luck I should be able to respond as usual on Monday. If I don't however, now you know why.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

It was after a two hour nap that he awoke once more in a tangle of limbs and sheets, his Wolf guard pressed closely to him. His Wolves quite enjoyed being near others, he had noted, often sleeping together in tight groups. It could have been an effect of the training they went through or the emotional conditioning they had failed, but Naruto was of the opinion that it was likely the result of both.

Neither Sai nor Mai had any explanation for this, the two of them often sharing a bed like siblings- which, Naruto suspected, very well might be the case, blood or otherwise-, and even Danzou had seemed to find this fact interesting.

But the mystery of why his Wolves seemed to crave human contact so set aside, he had things he needed to take care of. Carefully extracting himself despite a displeased moan of protest she probably wouldn't remember uttering when she woke, Naruto slipped out of bed and took a moment to observe his latest sleeping companion.

Curly chestnut hair splayed out over his pillows and covered the face he had only briefly seen when he had returned earlier. Green eyes remained tightly shut despite the sunlight that poured into his room and she attempted to bury herself deeper into his white blankets to escape the day.

Considering the fact that most of the blanket was wrapped around her legs she wasn't doing too well. He reached down and gently removed the fabric from around her bare legs and pulled it up just shy of her slender shoulders. Fingers softly brushed her hair out of the young woman's face and he gave a small smile at her peaceful expression. Satisfied that she was comfortable Naruto went about preparing for the day, carefully avoiding the clothing scattered over his floor.

A quick shower and a fresh change of clothes later he opted to grab breakfast on his way to the Den and quietly left his apartment. Within twenty steps the outer guard had managed to move to a position more suited to following after his lord and kept unseen vigil throughout the length of the journey.

Those already on the streets of the red light district recognized him well enough and kept their distance- not because he was known as the leader of the Wolves but because many of them remembered him as the 'Little Thief'. Getting close was just asking to have your pocket picked and even though he no longer relied on theft to support himself there wasn't a person on these streets that would know that.

Walking straight up to the crimson building that housed the entrance to the Den caused many to turn their heads away. It was not known what group lurked within the red walls –though much speculation pointed to the Yamanaka's claims of 'Wolves' being accurate due to the masks worn by the guards- but plausible deniability was good friends with everyone in the red light district.

The last thing you wanted was to see something you shouldn't have.

That's not to say they hadn't seen a fair number of people enter the building. Some left after hours, others were seen existing days later, and then there were those who no one ever saw again. The people here didn't know who was housed within the building or what they wanted with those who entered but they were not surprised to see the 'Little Thief' making his way there.

He made the trip often for whatever reason those within called on him and he never failed to return, even if it was several days later.

One could only conclude that for whatever they wanted him, he did it well.

And had this not involved such a suspicious occurrence speculation would be running rampant. As it was, the subject was only brought up in hushed whispers by those securely hidden within the dark rooms at local bars. There was not one person on the street that was not curious.

But there was not one person who wanted to sate that curiosity first hand.

Solid oak doors opened before he could touch them, creaking apart just enough to grant him entry. His guard would be joining with those stationed in the area as he went about his business inside. They would be waiting to rejoin him upon his exit so long as he returned before his guard changed. Chances were, however, that he would not be encountering that Wolf until sometime tonight for his next watch.

Moving into the second room he waved off the Wolves in the corners that all rose to salute him and proceeded down the staircase into the complex that was the Den of Wolves. With the number of times he had come here navigation was no issue and he was soon admitted into his office by the four guards posted before his door.

The office was empty at the moment but he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before either Mai or Sai – perhaps even both- made their appearance. One of his Wolves had no doubt sent word about his arrival the second he entered as they always did. It was, however, something he couldn't quite explain. Sure, he was here to take care of some things, but that didn't mean they couldn't come later with new things to be brought to his attention. If he was looking for them he'd have sent a Wolf and if it was an emergency he would have been notified.

Instead the two of them insisted on being informed of his presence in the Den so they could assist him.

He appreciated it- really, he did- but it was certainly unnecessary.

He sat down at his desk, taking a moment to appreciate his chair, before pulling out some paper and his favorite pen. He wasn't sure if Hinata knew about the meeting this morning or if she eventually would – both of which he highly doubted- so she'd need to be informed to cancel any and all support she had started giving to the Yamanaka clan.

Hiashi favored the Uzumaki in this situation- if not because the Yamanaka had gone against one of his clan members, his daughter, specifically, then because the Uzumaki had such influence even when reduced to a pair of members.- which meant her withdrawn support couldn't look like she was against the Uzumaki to the branch members of the Flock that followed her lest the risk of discovery rise dramatically.

He'd have to emphasize that point, his Wolves would soon be able to flee to Wave if they were discovered- or, rather, officially recognized, as he was fairly certain Hiruzen was just as aware of them as he was of the existence of Root itself- but the Flock was a much more delicate matter, especially with the seals.

He'd probably need to start removing them soon, though he'd need a more secure position to do so.

Then again, while making a large number of seals defunct would be suspicious it couldn't be pinned on him and there really wouldn't be anything the Hyuuga could do about it. Their paranoia about a Hyuuga Sealmaster managing to wrest control of the clan from them really left them in a rather bad spot when they were up against someone who could change seals as easily as breathing.

Their loss, his gain, he supposed.

The letter was written quickly enough but he hadn't even had a chance to send it before Mai entered, followed closely by a folder-holding Sai. Mai looked well rested and ready to start the day, which she probably was, and Naruto figured it was likely she had been eating a morning meal when she was informed.

Sai, on the other hand, did not look like he had been granted the chance to sleep in several days and his pale skin only served to make the dark rings under his eyes more pronounced. Honestly, it was rather odd seeing him like this and Naruto briefly thought of a panda.

"Both of you, please, have a seat." His attention focused on Sai. "Are you well?"

"My apologies, Naruto-Sama, but you either have the best timing or the worst. I have yet to decide which."

One of Naruto's brows raised.

"Oh? How so?"

"I personally visited Wave to offer the services of the Wolves to Gato, I only just returned to the village. Either you have the best timing because I can bring this to your attention and leave for my bed or you have the worst because I could have grabbed a few hours of sleep before this."

"I see." A faint, amused smile graced his lips. "You know you didn't have to seek me out immediately, I've told you-" He looked between the pair. "Both of you- that if I'm in need of you you'll be summoned. I appreciate that you do this yourselves but it really isn't necessary."

"Be that as it may, Naruto-Sama." Mai spoke for the first time. "I am rather interested in hearing this news as soon as possible. If things are favorable we may be closer to freeing the Flock. I quite look forward to being able to use them to their fullest but as it is now I'm restricted by the elders and the main branch. The sheep do little good grazing in these dying pastures."

"Well spoken." Nodded Naruto. "Sai, please give us a quick summary and leave the report on my desk. You're free- and encouraged- to leave for your personal quarters as soon as you're finished."

"Thank you Naruto-Sama, in that case I'll keep it short and simple. Gato has reacted well to our offer and seems remarkably pleased that- and I quote- 'a proper mercenary group' is willing to reach out to him for employment. I suppose he sees it as a sign of success if others can recognize the potential rewards of working with him."

"A 'proper mercenary group'?" Asked Mai. "I was under the impression that we still weren't well known. I'm surprised he's heard of us already, he doesn't strike me as the type to care much for information regarding the various mercenary companies throughout the elemental nations."

"I'd have to say you're right. The thugs working for him were probably already in the area and- even more likely- very cheap. If he just judged us by the fact that we're dressed similarly and all have the same mask I wouldn't be surprised. Despite his insane financial success, I don't believe he's in the habit of hiring actual mercs."

"That may be part of the reason he's been so financially successful; mercenaries aren't cheap." Mused Naruto. "It's a risk though; I can't imagine they're much use against a Shinobi of any caliber. Most Genin could defeat the average bandit in open combat and a squad of them employing stealth should be able to eliminate his forces without too much trouble."

"And that's why he was happy to hire us. He's got a lot of money and some big connections but right now most of his company is relying on Wave. He knows that if he loses it he's just about done for." Sai paused for a second. "Well, that and we're working for cheap at the moment. Our regular price would have turned him away from our services."

"He's paying more than he knows." Assured Naruto. "I take it you left a team in Wave?"

"That's right. Only two of them returned with me. I'll be sending out more later today but a big portion of our forces are just arriving from previous long-term missions. I hope to have them sent out within the week."

"Good work. Who have you chosen as captain?" Naruto inquired.

"Keigo. He found this so I'm going to let him lead it. I have Ren replacing him as a scout in Mizu no Kuni."

"He's currently in wave, then?"

"He is."

Naruto nodded.

"In that case I'll send instructions with the group you send later today. You've done well Sai, get some rest."

The pale- currently panda resembling- young man snapped off a quick salute and hurried out of Naruto's office. As soon as he was gone Mai spoke.

"Was there anything that I can aid you with, Naruto-Sama?"

"I've picked a clan." It was simple but Mai understood well enough. Had the Yamanaka been able to rebuild without the interference of the Uzumaki it was likely that they would later serve as the Wolves' public voice in the village. Now that they were a vassal clan, however, that option was out.

Fortunately, Konoha had plenty of clans.

"I take it you want me to make contact immediately now that we have a path into wave?"

"I do. Even if the job goes to shit and we have to take over in a more crude manner Wave is ours now, it's just a matter of time. The sooner we have an established clan to silently support us within Konoha the sooner we can fully benefit from our future position in wave."

"We're going the trading route, right? Will they even go for that?"

"Not the trading, but I'm sure they won't be adverse to funding once we control the shipping industry. Then again, the chance to branch out may appeal to them. It never hurts to have a bit more security, especially after the tragedy that struck the Yamanaka. Just imagine, if they had partners doing business at a global scale our little raid would have hurt them but they'd have managed far better."

"True." She agreed. "So, what do I call you?"

"Pardon?"

"Your position doesn't have a name and I'm not about to call you 'my lord' the entire time or have them call you 'your lord' throughout the meeting."

"I'll leave it up to you, just avoid something stupid like 'Lord of Wolves'."

She gave a playful pout.

"Aw, and that was my first choice, too."

Naruto scowled.

"I would hope not. Now, you should probably get going. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

"They aren't expecting us."

"They are, they just don't know it."

An amused smile pulled at her lips as she shook her head.

"Whatever you say, Naruto-Sama, but you still haven't told me who we're going for."

"Isn't it obvious? There's only one other pack within Konoha."

* * *

"This is impossible!" The cry-distinctly feminine- came from somewhere in the nearby woods as he lazily turned the page of his favorite book.

Humming, as if in agreement to the voice who would not hear him, he stayed seated on one of the three logs planted deep into the ground of training ground seven. Not a minute later a rather frustrated blonde emerged from the woods followed closely by a dark haired avenger and a pink haired walking textbook. Trailing leisurely behind them an exact copy had pulled out their own copy of Icha-Icha and was enjoying it while they could.

"For you, maybe." His relaxed reply was almost jovial, as if he enjoyed her frustration.

"No Genin, not even me, could manage to hide from you in that deathtrap and I was trained for four years by Uzumaki Kushina!" Just beyond the tree line he had set up a host of traps to impede their progress as they struggled in vain to hide from his clone. It was stealth training mixed with an introduction to basic traps and hostile terrain navigation. Because his clone would throw handfuls of kunai and shiruken every time he spotted them it also served quite nicely as evasion training.

Mitarashi would have gotten a kick out of it

Behind the young Uzumaki her teammates gave grim nods, evidently feeling the same.

"Isn't your brother a Genin? I bet he could do it." The Uzumaki scowled as her teammates groaned. Their sensei seemed to have made it his mission to mention the former Uzumaki prince whenever he could, usually in comparison to their own skills.

It went without saying that Kakashi claimed that they fell short every time.

Sasuke was rather tired of hearing about his teammate's brother. The young man had rarely shown up for class and yet had still managed to graduate with a fairly average score. The last Uchiha in Konoha was willing to bet his clan compound that Naruto had taken advantage of that extra time to train.

It annoyed him to no end that the other boy had been able to accomplish the exact same thing he had but wasn't made to waste his time doing it.

Sakura, while knowing full well that Naruto was stronger than her and likely even Sasuke hated to think of someone her age being stronger than her crush. Failing to do something and then being told that Naruto would have been able to do it was beyond frustrating for her and seemed to always put her Sasuke in a foul mood.

Naruko knew for a fact that her brother was better than her, especially in the stealth field, but she didn't like hearing about it all the time. Not only did it bring back guilt from losing control during their spar but it reminded her that she still hadn't managed to get her brother back. It also seemed that with every step they attempted to take towards him both she and her mother took steps away from each other.

She knew her mother was probably a bit upset about her use of the Kyuubi's chakra during their spar but she was likewise displeased by the way her mother refused to stop and listen before charging headlong into her plans to bring her son back into the family. As history had shown Kushina was not great when it came to plans and her attempts only seemed to push away her estranged brother. She had to wonder if the Uzumaki clan was destined to fall apart completely, the three final members falling away and never having contact again.

For someone grown up in such a family-oriented clan it would be a nightmare.

Of course, there was also the matter of Mito's chakra flaring painfully every time her brother was mentioned by her masked sensei, as if she could hear him and wished to show her agreement.

That certainly wasn't helping.

"He's not even on a team." Scowled Sasuke. "How would you know anything about skill he may or may not have?" The question had been on all their minds ever since Kakashi had first brought it up but it wasn't until now that someone had questioned their sensei about it.

The brow of Kakashi's one visible eye rose inquisitively.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" he questioned. "I'll have you know that I've seen him work."

"Really?" Asked Sakura. "What could he have been doing in the village?"

"It was probably training." Commented Naruko. Kakashi waved his had in dismissal of that idea.

"There was that time he was picking pockets and snatching purses in the market district. He was doing pretty well but didn't pay enough attention to the rooflines around him." He paused for a second in faux thought, idly stroking his covered chin. "Then there was that time he helped an unofficial enemy of Konoha after Shinobi had been sent to kill them and their associates."

That was one way to describe the Uchiha massacre, he supposed.

"They dropped some evidence and Naruto was a pit preoccupied to notice so I picked that up for him. Now, what else was there? Ah, yes-"

By now the three were looking at him in a mix of shock and horror. He was just sitting there casually mentioning crimes committed by a fellow Shinobi of the leaf. Helping the enemy of Konoha alone was very nearly treason and only the fact that it was unofficial would have kept him from being executed.

Their sensei, however, didn't seemed bothered by this in the least, even when he had helped with it and could easily be demoted or otherwise disciplined. Then again, he couldn't be a Chuunin instructor so either he felt secure in this position teaching them or, more likely, he would happily accept the demotion if it meant he didn't have to teach them.

He really didn't seem to like them very much.

"I was the one who disposed of that body he left in the alley four years ago. I was so proud to see him killing so young. It was an accident, of sorts, I think, but what matters in the end is he succeeded. It was a bit careless of him to leave the body," He gave an uncaring shrug. "But I suppose we should cut him some slack considering he was eight."

Team seven would never be questioning Kakashi or protesting comparisons to Naruto ever again.

Hidden behind his mask, Kakashi's lips stretched into a smile.

* * *

The Inuzuka loved to hunt, it was as common knowledge as the Nara raising deer of the Akimichi's passion for food, and they did it as often as possible. Therefore it came as no surprise to Mai and her masked compatriots that the Inuzuka compound seemed nearly abandoned. They could hear people in nearby buildings training puppies and treating sick Ninken but they crossed paths with no one as they slipped over the gate and cut swiftly across the grassy fields that took up much of the estate.

While many clans had their members living within the compound and businesses surrounding it, the Inuzuka clan reserved the compound for the head family and important facilities and let members of the pack live outside of the walls as near or far as they pleased.

And this served the Wolves well enough.

Entering the home of the head family, Mai took a seat in the main room as her guards moved to stand behind her. The room was comfortable enough, in her opinion. All manner of furs covered the ground and the three couches that encircled the empty fireplace were a deep red. There were no windows in this room and for it the faintly yellow lights seemed to glow all the more warmly.

It was truly fitting for a clan of dogs and even she and her Wolves found themselves rather relaxed by it.

Time stretched on as they sat waiting for the clan head to make an appearance and Mai was rather tempted to remove her mask several times. It wasn't often she needed to keep her identity hidden, but it also wasn't often she was doing anything remotely resembling a mission.

Her mask was just like the others with only one notable difference- an upturned crimson crescent that rested above her brow. She normally didn't need any sort of marker to identify her because everyone could see her face and she doubted the wolves would have any trouble should she give them orders, but the small mark she had added just before leaving for the Inuzuka compound would make it obvious for her unknowing host to identify her as being above the guards she had brought.

Well, that and it fit perfectly with the name she had chosen for her Naruto-Sama.

Minutes continued to pass until a drowsy Inuzuka Tsume walked down and entered her kitchen. After her they could hear the padding of her canine companion who didn't make it to the kitchen before letting loose a deep growl. Startled by this, Tsume was instantly awake and alert, sniffing around for anything unfamiliar.

Her nose found it.

"Alright, enough hiding, I can smell the lot of you. Come out and face me."

A light giggle was received in response.

"My, whoever said we were hiding, Tsume-san?" The soft feminine voice giggled once more in an almost mocking manner. "We've been waiting for you to join us in your sitting room."

Cautiously, Tsume left her kitchen, her companion by her side. Deftly grabbing a Kunai she had hidden on the way she slipped it into the loose robes she had thrown on that morning and entered the main room. A young thing, likely no more than sixteen, greeted her vision, a snarling white wolf blocking her face. There was a marking on her mask, unlike the two who stood on either side of her behind the couch, and her clothing was a mix of reds and blacks.

"Come, have a seat." Her voice was slightly cold but held a melodic quality that made Tsume feel the girl was looking down on her as if she were the child here. She also didn't seem to care that she was inviting the Inuzuka matriarch to take a seat in her own home like it was hers.

Taking a seat anyway, she sat directly across from the Wolf woman and was aware of her Ninken sitting on his haunches by her feet, alert and ready to attack should she be threatened. Oddly, she got the impression that her uninvited guest was amused by this, despite not being able to see what expression was hidden by the snarling mask.

"Who are you?" Tsume was blunt and to the point. Mai had a suspicion that it was another reason her master had chosen this clan. It would be refreshing to be able to skip the games and get down to what needed to be done.

"Surely the Yamanaka have mentioned us, I don't imagine they'd keep quiet about those who tore them down." Mai's brow rose behind her mask.

"So you are real."

Mai gave a rather undignified snort. "Did you really thing young Naruto brought one of Konoha's greater clans to its knees? He's not to be underestimated, certainly, but that's simply beyond his ability." A giggle left her lips. "Without help, of course. Luckily he wasn't without it."

"I see. That just brings us to the mater of why you're in my home."

"To speak with you, of course." She giggled again. "What other reason would we have to approach you?"

"You seem to have done a good number on the Yamanaka." Spoke Tsume suspiciously. "I wouldn't be surprised if we were next on your list. Of course, killing me and letting Hana rule won't help you, she's as stubborn as I am and far more competent than that flower princess."

"Oh, such harsh words. She's come quite a ways, you know. Master was quite pleased with how she was maturing. Who knows? If the Uzumaki hadn't stepped in she may have been able to bring her clan back."

"And you would allow that?" Tsume could practically feel the smirk from behind the mask.

"Oh, of course. In fact, Mater had arranged for aid to be delivered in secret so they could get back to their feet."

"Then what was the point in crushing them?"

"Young Naruto helped Master once, Master was happy to be able to return the favor by making an example out of the young man's enemy."

"And who is this 'Master' of yours?"

"Master Tsukiyomi."

"Tsukiyomi? As in the moon god?"

"Indeed."

Tsume snorted.

"What a presumptuous name to take."

"He didn't take it, I gave it to him. Though I'm surprised you know such a big word, Inuzuka are not often noted for their intelligence."

"I'm not an Inuzuka, I'm the head of the Inuzuka. Our packmates might not concern themselves with knowledge that doesn't interest them but the main family has a duty to uphold."

"The wisest lead the pack, huh? Seems sound enough."

"More sound than you naming your master."

"We know who he is, he's never hid from us, but we can't exactly be letting everyone in on his identity. He needed something to be called by those not sworn to him and I found 'Tsukiyomi' to be quite fitting. We Wolves are rather fond of the moon, you know."

"You say that almost as if he isn't a wolf himself."

"Oh, you're a sharp one. I'll have to warn Master Tsukiyomi about that. He is of the pack and he is our alpha, but he's not a Wolf; not anymore."

"Not anymore?"

"He was a Wolf when I first met him but he's continued to become more. I can't call him a wolf any longer."

"And so you named him after a god?"

Mai gave a light laugh. "It's fitting, but very few know why."

"Interesting, but you have yet to get to the point of this meeting."

"Ah, yes, let's cut to the chase then, shall we? Master Tsukiyomi wants you and your clan to serve as his voice within Konoha."

"His voice?"

"The Wolves aren't currently recognized and we intend to keep it that way for a bit longer. He wants a silent supporter who can act in favor of his pack and inform him of the going abouts of the village."

"Is he not in the village?"

"For now, but that might change soon. It's part of the reason we decided to reach out to you now."

"And what might that be?"

"He's set things up to allow us to take over a small country."

Tsume blinked a bit in disbelief. A small country? The first they hear of this group is when they strike against the Yamanaka and suddenly they're about to rule a country? The Wolves weren't messing around, it would seem.

"And how does that affect us?"

"It's a very profitable country. Your clan has always been strong in a physical sense but financially and politically you've always been lacking. You act as his voice here in Konoha and his pack will aid yours."

"Any attempt to increase a clan's standing is going to be seen as a threat by the Hyuuga."

"He's already working on it."

"How so?"

Mai wagged her fingers.

"Uh-uh-uh, I can't be telling you that. Hiashi learning could make a mess of everything and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Crossing her arms, Tsume scowled.

"You want me to risk the wrath of the Hyuuga but won't tell me how you plan to ensure my safety from them? Only a fool would accept that. I'm better off approaching Hiashi and gaining his favor."

"Go for it. It will force our hand early but the Wolves will make it through stronger than ever." A vicious smile spread over Mai's hidden lips. "I can't say the same for you or the Hyuuga, though."

"You speak as if the Hyuuga are already in your hands."

"They will be soon enough. Master Tsukiyomi has control over a large part of the clan already and is simply biding his time to make a move. You can be with him and reap the rewards, on the sidelines to witness it, or against him to suffer the consequences. It's your choice, but chose wisely." Mai stood. "There are plenty of clans left in Konoha we can approach, the Hyuuga included. We lose nothing if you deny us, but you will. Have a good day, Tsume-San."

With that Mai and her Wolves left, seeing themselves out and leaving the Inuzuka clan head to ponder her options.

Changes were coming, regardless of what she did. It was just a matter of how she'd prepare for them. Unfortunately, the best preparation seemed to be joining the force that was bringing such change. Standing on the sidelines her clan gained nothing, but they also lost nothing. Going against them wasn't an option, the Yamanaka had proven that nicely and despite her bravado Tsume knew her clan wouldn't stand a chance on the political playing field.

But were she to side with them, the clan could be elevated to heights they had never dared to dream.

She would be the single greatest head since the founder.

And that, she had to admit, was tempting.

Damn tempting.

* * *

 **And there we have it. Next week is the scheduled double-length chapter I'm sure you are all eagerly anticipating and I intend to at least put an official start to the Wave mission.**

 **Then again, I have little control over which direction my writing goes, so we'll see.**


	25. The Wolves Among You

**I'm just going to start by saying I like the first two scenes of this chapter more than I have any other parts of the story. Hopefully, the rest of you will agree.**

 **Next, I'd like to apologize to** **Mikaeru346 for not responding to their reviews. Once again the site is being uncooperative when it comes to reading and responding to reviews but once it's done throwing its little tantrum I'll have responses for you.**

 **That said, we may have a repeat of last week in which I wasn't able to respond to all those who reviewed over** **the weekend. Just as last week I'll be taking care of those as soon as the site is cooperative.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's enjoy the show, shall we?**

* * *

The black dress hugged closely every delightful curve of her body, showing almost as much of the woman as one might see should she not be wearing it at all.

Naruto could hardly tear his eyes away.

And she knew that.

She smirked at him in amusement and licked her lips as she gave him a flirtatious wink. He needed to stay focused on the mission- they both did- but that didn't seem to bother the older woman. If anything, knowing that distracting him made this more difficult- even if only the slightest bit- would only serve as further incentive for her to continue.

The short, tight black dress had been chosen to distract those around them and to make it easier for him to be unnoticed amongst the crowds. He had not expected it to work against him, too.

But he was willing to bet that she had.

"This is not helping." He hissed in a whisper as she passed by him closely, taking extra care to rub herself against his side as she glided confidently across the carpeted floors of the establishment. She only gave a fleeting giggle in response.

And then she was gone.

But it made it no less difficult for him to keep his eyes off her.

Shaking his head, he managed to direct his gaze to the masses of people enjoying their evening, trying his damnedest not to search the crowd for her distinctive purple hair and find himself entrapped by her stunning looks once more.

Not that one could blame him, anyone in Konoha could tell you that Mitarashi Anko was attractive.

He doubted, however, that any of them had seen her in that dress. Or any dress, for that matter.

He would not be forgetting that image anytime soon.

As he snatched a glass from a passing server he had to marvel at the fact that she had actually managed to obtain this mission. Not only was it rare that Konoha would accept such a mission as open in objective as this one but it paid unbelievably well for its meager B-rank. Of course, it wasn't even B-rank, either. The client had asked for it to be listed as C-rank both to attract more attention to the offer of temporary employment but also because a relatively fresh squad of Genin could accomplish it with moderate ease.

She had offered so much money for the job, however, that the Shinobi administration office in Konoha had to up the rank. As it was the mission paid almost double that of the standard A-rank and had the potential to net those who took it a hell of a lot more if they played their cards right.

He still wasn't completely sure if they were going to be doing that, though. It'd be harder, sure, but the payout was certainly worth a bit of extra effort. The problem was that they only had one chance at this and screwing it up could lead to problems not just for the mission but for Konoha as well.

That rather open nature was probably another reason the ranking had gone up, the last thing Konoha needed was a group of Genin getting cocky and showing that not all of their village's work was as heroic as they wanted the world to believe.

Not that anyone higher than Genin actually believed that about Konoha in the other villages, but public appearance was important, especially when doing work in one's own country. Knowledge that there were two Konoha Shinobi currently looking to shut down an up and coming casino owned by a respected citizen of Hi no Kuni at the behest of another citizen was bound to make things between Konoha and the rest of the land of fire uneasy.

That's not to say things like this didn't happen frequently enough, especially with foreign Shinobi, but villages tended to do their best to keep their own involvement from reaching the notice of the public.

And for that reason he'd have to be careful to keep Konoha's hand in this hidden, especially if the two of them were to attempt to give themselves a nice little bonus courtesy of the casino owner.

Walking to a corner he slipped an explosive note onto the wall behind a chair. That would be the last one, now it was a matter of Anko deciding whether or not they'd attempt to go for the safe. They could always go along with the basic mission and hope to snatch their prize from the safe in the aftermath but it wasn't guaranteed to survive and would be far harder with everyone in a panic. Well, not harder to do, but harder to avoid being seen and eventually identified as Konoha Shinobi.

Headbands had been left in Konoha and Shinobi identification was hidden back at the hostel but that didn't mean it wouldn't eventually be traced back to their village and Naruto had no intention of allowing that- mainly because it lessened the chances of promotion and would make other teams more hesitant to take him on.

Anko probably couldn't care less so long as she could get away with the contents of the safe.

He didn't know what the woman was planning on doing with the money- besides the rather obvious Dango binge she would go on- but his Wolves could use an official uniform instead of the assortment of dark clothing they wore now. Sure, it all looked vaguely similar and gave each Wolf a bit more personality but if they were going to be taken seriously they needed to take this seriously.

Appearance was important no matter what it was you were doing and this was no different. He could always wait until wave was his, of course, and use whatever fortunes they could manage to get their greedy paws on to finalize the foundations of their group, but it was also a slight matter of pride.

A loose collection of people taking over a country and becoming an organization was one thing, a shadowy organization stepping out of the shadows to claim a country as their own was quite another.

Both would send a message to the rest of the world, he just needed to ensure it was the message he wanted the world to receive.

Taking a sip form the drink he had liberated from the server his amethyst eyes peered intently at the crowd. None of them, not a dammed one, would suspect anything. They were civilians, rich civilians, people who would never suspect anything of this nature might occur at all. The notion that they might actually be part of it was incomprehensible.

It was actually kind of sad how helpless these people really were. Even as they chatted and drank, played and flirted, lost everything they had ever had and gained the fortunes they could have previously only dreamed of they knew nothing of the Shinobi in their midst.

Just one person trained in the ways of chakra could ruin your life irrevocably with incredible ease. He could use Genjutsu to enslave the lot of them, selling them to the highest bidder. He could sniff out the flame of life that burned in their deceptively frail bodies as easily as a thunderous storm might put out a single candle.

The building around them could be made to collapse on them with a single handsign and a pulse of his chakra, allowing fate and luck to bicker over who escaped and who was lost on this night. It would be only marginally more difficult for his chains to pierce through them all and either end lives or permanently cripple.

But a civilian would never think of such things just as few Shinobi would consider using their power in this manner.

Civilians were beneath them, many believed, and to use Shinobi abilities on them was to treat them as they would other Shinobi. It was inconceivable to them.

Both groups were foolish and those like himself could see it. It's what separated true Shinobi from the chakra-wielding mercenaries of these days. Anyone could be a threat, everyone was fair game, all that mattered was accomplishing what you set out to do.

That was not to say, however, that he would be killing all the people in this building. No, the fewer that were injured the better. The suspicious destruction of the casino would start rumors but there would be no real investigation. Should sufficient people die in such a freak accident though there was no doubt people would search for answers. Those answers led back to Konoha and that couldn't be allowed to happen.

Purple hair caught his attention across the room as he located his partner. He walked with leisurely strides in that general direction, careful not to walk straight to her. He paused a few times at various tables to watch or participate in games as he slowly made his way to the other side of the large room.

Another win gave him a tidy sum to slip into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and a reason to excuse himself from the table. A few at the table ribbed him good-naturedly at his departure, claiming him a coward for running before his luck turned and- most importantly- they had a chance to regain their money. He waved them off with a friendly grin – one Anko had insisted he practice in the hostel room before they had left- and continued on his way.

Not a single person he had met tonight had questioned his age- openly, at least. A few curious gazes was the closest he had received and even those faded away as soon as they learned he had money. Their client had given them a small starting bonus to allow them to blend in. he personally found it odd how much money they were willing to spend on a team of Shinobi for the mission when they had started but after witnessing the massive amount of notes and coins that switched hands in this establishment for himself he could understand fully why they would be fine spending the relatively low amount to ensure that money went to their own business.

Of course, that had not been the only type of gaze he had received and he had been very careful to avoid those who looked at him hungrily. Whether they were attracted to him because of his young age or the money in his possession he did not know but he wasn't here to acquaint himself with women of either nature.

Though even he had to admit he wouldn't mind spending time in the company of some of those women.

He did, however, have a job to do.

A half-filled glass was placed on a server's tray as nimble fingers relieved him of two full ones. Carrying on without pause he moved right up to Anko's side and handed her one of the drinks, ignoring completely the several people around her with whom she'd been conversing before his arrival.

"Ah, there you are, Naruto-Kun." She smiled, knowing full well that he was aware she had been tracking his progress to her. It was the only real explanation for her to have put in the effort to continue conversation with the same group for so long. "And you brought me a drink, too. You always know just what I need."

"Of course I do, Anko-Nee." The tone of his words implied he was affronted and the two of them were quite pleased that their little audience was eating it up.

"So this is your brother then?" Questioned one of the men she had been around.

"Yep, isn't he just adorable?" A woman in the group giggled slightly until Naruto's arm snaked it's way around his "Sister's" waist, pulling her close.

"Adorable?" He scoffed. "We both know you don't see me like that." The hand that had been resting on her waist dipped lower, gently stroking her upper thigh. A tint of red dusted her cheeks at thaa as those watching seemed scandalized.

"I thought you said he was your brother!"

"He- he is."

"Step-brother." Naruto further clarified to the group. "Dear old dad was tired of trying to keep up with the energy and expenses of his young wives and decided to find someone closer to his own age. Anko-Nee here was just a very pleasant bonus; I like to think of her as my consolation prize. I did lose a mother- or five- in order for dad to bring her into our family, after all. I think I deserve it." He sent a positively feral grin at the shocked group before him. "Don't you?"

"Yes, yes, of course." The civilians all nodded in agreement but only one had managed to say anything. A few of them looked a bit green, though there was a woman in the back who seemed rather intrigued. When she licked her lips Naruto made sure to keep his eyes from drifting in her direction again.

The world was full of all sorts of people and who was he to judge? He had just made up a pretty immoral backstory for his partner and himself, had he not?

Of course, Anko chose that moment to confirm his story and remind him that two could play that game. Practically melting into his side she leaned down and breathed hotly into his ear before trailing light kisses down his jaw, ending with a deeper kiss on his neck and a lusty lick back up to his ear.

If the civilians hadn't been uncomfortable before they most certainly were now.

"Can't you wait a bit more, Anko-Nee? I was looking to get a few more games in; I've nearly tripled the money father gave us for the night."

Anko pouted in response. "Aw, but I wanted to have a bit of fun back at the hostel before we return to the manner Na-ru-to-Sa-ma." Her lusty whisper was just loud enough for the others to overhear and they quickly left begging all manner of poor excuses.

The two Shinobi shared a victorious grin as Anko pulled him away into the back of the establishment and shoved him into a utility closet. Closing the door behind her she just about purred her next words.

"Oh, well done, Naruto-Kun, well done." The grin probably wasn't going to be leaving her face anytime soon. "I don't think it would be possible for me to have come up with a better backstory than that. Not only is it believable but there aren't many who are comfortable digging for more information after hearing it."

"I made it up on the spot, to be honest, and it was more to mess with you than it was to give us a history to use. I considered it a success just driving them away so we could talk."

"Maybe, but it also provided an explanation for why I've dragged you off to a closet."

"And what explanation would that be?" There was no confusion on his face but a single brow rose challengingly.

"Why, to have my wicked way with you of course." She pressed him against the wall then, her breasts pushing against his chest as she leaned down.

"Considering you called me 'Naruto-Sama', I'm more inclined to believe you brought me here so I could have my wicked way with you."

"So?" She gave a shrug. "I'd enjoy it either way."

He just shook his head. "Maybe some other time, Nee-chan, we have a mission to finish. Are we going for the vault?"

"No, but I am." She grinned at him. "I found a guard who's shift is over soon and I'm going to let him take me to the back. Security's been getting pretty lax over the last week or so because no one has tried anything yet and most of the guards are inexperienced. I'll knock him out and just seal the vault so we can get out of here."

"And you're sure they won't get suspicious with a missing vault? I only used low-grade notes to minimize damage inflicted upon nearby buildings, that shouldn't be nearly enough to completely destroy any half-decent vault."

"I suppose no one would ask questions if the owner tragically perished tonight. Well, that or if we killed him later before heading to our employer." Mused the snake summoner.

"I'll pay him a visit and make sure he isn't found. With a bit of luck they'll assume he was trying for the insurance money." He didn't know who would insure a casino in a world of Shinobi but just the idea of a civilian casino even existing where Shinobi could take advantage of it was far harder for him to wrap his head around. At least someone had found their on way to profit off such an ill-advised business decision.

Or, they were taking advantage of it so long as they could dismiss the claims after the inevitable thefts. Naruto supposed that whoever it was that insured this particular casino would be rather grateful that the owner was about to mysteriously disappear during the upcoming catastrophe.

And to think there were people who didn't believe Shinobi were good people.

They were plenty good- so long as they were on your side.

"Heh, sounds like a plan." Her hands traveled up and down his torso until his clothing was in a ruffled disarray and she pulled loose random strands of his hair from the ponytail it was currently in. Lastly she reapplied her lipstick and laid a generous amount of kisses over his neck and around his mouth. Satisfied, she stepped back and grinned at his new look. "Now people have no reason to be suspicious. I'll meet you back at the hostel in an hour or so and then we can activate the tags."

Before she could leave he snatched her hand and pulled her back. His lips found her neck and he made sure to leave a noticeable hickey before releasing her from his grasp and messing up her own hair.

"You know I'm meeting someone who is thinking I'm going to sleep with them, right?"

"I know you, Anko. The simple fact that you have him waiting until after his shift tells me you claimed to have someone waiting for you and would sneak back to him later. It's just like you to add a little something extra to spice things up."

She pouted.

"Aw, you caught me. At least this makes it believable."

"Whatever you say, Anko, I'll see you at the hotel. Try not to bring unnecessary attention to you, gods know you draw enough without torturing someone or creating explosions."

"I'm not that bad."

"Yugao-Sempai says differently."

She growled something that sounded suspiciously like 'traitor' before shaking her head and putting on a smile.

"Whatever, let's get to work. We can talk about pussies later." With that said she slipped out of the closet and by the time Naruto emerged she had managed to vanish.

A pity, too. He was really hoping to be able to watch her walk away.

* * *

Having just finished his shower, Naruto was lounging on the couch clad only in a pair of black pants when his partner returned from the casino with a victorious grin that could only mean success.

That was good, it meant the poor bastard who had run the place didn't die for nothing. It was rather fortunate that there was a river so close to Tanzaku-gai. Tying a mutilated corpse to a log and letting it float away should prove more than sufficient for buying the time they needed to finish the mission and get out.

"Got the goods?" As soon as he had said that her grin widened and her hands moved up to her breasts. He didn't even try to suppress the sigh that made its way from between his lips. He should have expected something like that.

"The money, Anko." He amended. "Did you get the money?"

"Of course I did." Her hands returned to her breasts but instead of cupping them as she had previously she reached into her dress and pulled out a small scroll. There was nothing he could do to stop the blush that had no doubt spread across his face.

Her victorious smirk became positively wicked.

Coughing nervously, Naruto got up and beckoned her to follow him from the siting area of the rented room and through the small kitchen area until they reached a small balcony. They had chosen this location for a very good reason.

Making a seal for focus, he directed his chakra out towards the building he had so recently been in. The second his invisible tendrils of chakra made contact he could feel the rest of the tags he had left connect to each other and strengthen the bond he had with the first.

With a single pulse they activated and ten seconds later the first explosion flashed a brief orange in the night. Even from here he could hear the screaming and he let his hand drop to his side. The first note was placed on a wall that did little to support the building and that would be far enough away to avoid injuring anyone who was still in the building.

The notes that would go off thirty seconds later, however, would bring the building crashing down. If the occupants weren't bright enough to get the fuck out after the first explosion he had no pity for those who lost their lives to the second set.

Thirty seconds passed quickly and Anko gave a sequel of delight as the sky once more filled with reds and oranges. He did not hesitate to wrap his arm around her as she pressed herself to his side grinning madly.

"We need to do this more often." She declared. Naruto most certainly did not disagree with the excited woman and gave a slight nod. It took a supreme amount of effort and self-restraint to watch the small fire in the distance instead of turning to look at the breasts that were just about level with his eyes.

"If you come across another mission like this feel free to invite me along."

"Will do. You think we can blow up anything else before we get to Konoha?" Naruto rubbed his chin in mock thought.

"There's plenty to blow up," He commented. "But I don't think there's anything worth blowing up."

This only earned him a rather childish pout and he couldn't help but grin at the woman.

"So, now what?" She eventually asked. "I suppose we could turn this in right now and start heading back."

Naruto shook his head.

"We've already paid for the room, we might as well use it. Besides, if we leave now people might get suspicious." Her disappointed look despite the fact that 'using the room' should have had her making some sort of joke told him what he needed to know immediately.

"You were hoping for a chase, weren't you?"

"N-no!" Declared the woman. She did her best to look upset that he would even suggest something. His questioning brow and knowing smirk had her continuing moments later. "But I may have been hoping for a fight."

"That's my Anko, always up for explosions and bloodshed."

"Your Anko, huh? In that case there's another thing I'm always up for." Her grin was predatory. "Na-ru-to-Sa-ma."

The redhead groaned.

"You're never going to stop bringing up tonight, are you?"

"I could bring Naruto Jr up instead." She suggested with a wink.

"You realize I'm twelve, right? Every time you end up talking like this I can never be sure you remember or if you're just playing around." She actually looked displeased by that comment.

"I'm playing around, but only until you take me up on one of the offers." Said Anko. "Twelve or not you freed me from Orochimaru and that's worth more than you could ever know."

Oh, had that seal been placed by Orochimaru? He had known she had a seal she wanted removed but no more than that. It would certainly complicate things should she learn the man she hated so was his godfather, one whom Naruto had nothing against.

"You're probably right, but that doesn't mean I'm going to ask you to sleep with me." Thoughts of Tatsuki immediately popped up and he quickly pushed them away. No, he wasn't quite ready for that, not yet. Perhaps he should pay a visit to her grave soon; it had been a while since he last visited.

"Maybe not now." Countered the woman. "But I'm yours whenever you want me for whatever you might want me for. When I carried that mark I felt owned by him and I hated it. Now I'm free and I choose to be yours. Besides," she shot him a cheeky grin. "I'll wear you down eventually."

"I'm sure you will, but for now let's just get some sleep."

"You know there's only one bed, right?"

"Of course I do, Anko, I'm the one who booked the room, remember?"

She raised an inquisitive brow and he shrugged.

"Perhaps you've worn me down more than I'd care to admit.

The brilliant smile she gave him would be worth the teasing he would no doubt receive the entire way back.

* * *

Passersby made sure to keep their heads down as they quickly scurried past, doing their best to avoid being dragged into the problems of an unfortunate fellow villager. Their turn would come, they knew, and their own neighbors would do everything in their power to not get involved., but that was simply the way it was here in Nami.

It was a fool who dealt with Gato or his army of thugs more than absolutely necessary.

As one of such thugs raised his voice to a point where it could be considered shouting the few occupants of the small town's road quickly dispersed.

Dealing with the thugs normally was one thing but even being around them when they were angry was quite another.

"The money, where is it?!" A rather large man hefted up a much older, much more worn looking man by his shoulders and pinned him to the closed door of his home. It was quite rare for a home here to have a door at all, let alone one that was still sturdy enough to allow something like that.

"I don't know what you're talking about; I gave Gato the last of it two days ago!"

The thug scowled and slammed the man against his home.

"Don't you shit with me, fucker, I know you and your girls have been making some money on the side with those clothes of yours. You might fool the others who assume you only repair our boats down at the docks but I'm no idiot."

"Please, I have no idea what you're talking about, I swear!"

One of the thugs companions snickered in the background, having heard it more times than they cared to count while yet another, the final of the rather bandit-looking group scoffed and muttered about things taking too long.

Of course, the group of Gato's hired muscle wasn't alone today.

Any who dared peer out their window or attempt walking down the street would be met with the snarling visage of three wolves who circled the group and faced away from the house as if guarding them.

All three of them wore similar black clothing and a myriad of grey backs over their personages but the one in the middle stood out with his grey hood and the mantle of pure white fur that covered his shoulders. If one would get close enough to look they would also note the line of crimson paint that went from their forehead and down the bridge of their nose, breaking at the snarling maw, to end at the bottom of the porcelain. That mark alone showed him to be of higher ranks of the others but only one of those mask-wearing mercenaries wore that unique hood.

The hood was precious to him, as it would be all wolves, not because of the status it signified, but because it had been commissioned by their lord himself and paid for out of his own pocket. Currently it was the only one in existence and it was with great pride he wore it.

It was also that very hood that identified him as the High-Captain who on this day had ventured forth from Gato's complex to join what many of Nami's inhabitants had begun calling 'The Hunts'. The Hunts were weekly and tended to be the largest group of thugs you'd see away from bars, makeshift brothels, or Gato's own complex.

Tasked with collecting Gato's 'tax' they couldn't operate with members numbering less than five just in case some desperate villager might try to attack and run off with the money that 'rightfully' belonged to the shipping tycoon.

The fact that the leader of these new forces, these 'Wolves', was involved seemed a bad omen indeed to the populace of this dying town.

And then there were the rumors of the High-Captain being below several others in the hierarchy of these Wolves. Each Wolf seemed as valuable as many a dozen of Gato's original thugs and there were enough now in Wave to make it's inhabitants more than uncomfortable. Just the idea that this might only be the small portion led by this particular High-Captain was beyond terrifying.

They prayed that his superiors never stopped in for a visit.

Turning his attention from the street High-Captain Keigo took a moment to watch as the thug- probably the most competent one he had met working for Gato, honestly- continued to threaten the older man to no avail.

It was time to show more of the Wolves, both to Gato's forces and the people of Nami no Kuni.

He abandoned his position and moved inwards towards the house, his fellow Wolves falling into step behind him. His gloved hand was placed on the lead thug's forearm and the older man was dropped.

Keigo didn't wait to be questioned nor did he speak a word. Instead he grabbed the fallen man's shirt and opened the door, dragging his captive into the home. The other two wolves went in after him, closing and locking the door behind them.

Questioningly, the lead thug turned to the others, wondering if perhaps they had any idea what the Wolves were doing. He was answered with two confused shrugs. Having no reason not to let the Wolves do their thing he gave a small shrug of his own and leaned against the wall of the house near the door, prepared to wait. He was completely ignorant of the way Keigo tossed the homeowner onto the floor before removing two small pouches of coins.

He wouldn't see as one of them was tossed to the daughters and wife that had immediately rushed over to fuss over the man of the house. He could hear, however, the thumps of flesh on flesh as Keigo punched one of his Wolves reputedly and the surprised shrieks it elected from the house's occupants.

He would hear, and perhaps even smell, as one of the Wolves unsealed a small animal and let its blood run over the old wooden floors of the building in great splatters before the cut was stopped and the animal sealed once more.

As the High-Captain brought a finger to his snarling face in a sign of secrecy to which the occupants nodded in rapid acceptance the man would remain unaware, just as Gato was, of what was really going on behind the walls of the people of Nami no Kuni.

He would be greeted to the sight of a door opened by a slightly blood-splattered High-Captain and a wolf gently tossing a bag of coins in his hands. The two would exit and the thug would be able to see the older homeowner surrounded by the blood he had been dragged atop of, his family fretting about him until the third Wolf blocked his vision as they dragged out a loom.

He would turn away from the civilians of Wave as the Wolf threw the loom into the middle of the street and set it alight with a few hand movements and a great breath of flame. The bag of coins tossed to him he would catch only half aware before he came to a conclusion as to what had happened and a grin split his face.

"Well, I'll be damned. You Wolves certainly don't fuck around, do you?"

"Go for the throat." It was the only thing the High-Captain had spoken that day but it fit oh so well with his actions and the mentality of his group as a whole. They truly came of as a rather vicious bunch who would go for the soft flesh of their opponents throats and tear them open before a fight could begin.

He liked that.

"Well said," He laughed. "Very well said. I'm starting to like you lot. Maybe when I'm done working for Gato I can join your group."

Keigo tilted his head.

"There are far worse goals for a man to have, but you will not find entry to be so easy."

"Yeah, I bet you beasts have to go through a fuck-ton to become what you are, but you never know. At the very least, maybe I'll find myself working alongside another company of Wolves. I'm sure I'd get along well enough with any of you."

The High-Captain thought for a moment before speaking.

"I'll keep that in mind. Perhaps one day we will have use of you. Already you stand far above your fellows, it is not unlikely you will hear from us should our lord have need."

"Heh, probably the best I'm going to get. Let's finish up here and head back to base, first round's on me!"

Three thugs continued down the streets of Wave that day.

Their shadows were of Wolves.

* * *

There was an understandable nervous tension throughout the air of the room in which they had all gathered. Rather than the usual kitchen table the head family of the Yamanaka usually ate at or the dining room used when they had guests everyone was instead in a warm room and sat around a small table on an assortment of pillows and cushions.

And while the lighting and decoration of the room was warm, the atmosphere was anything but.

That was to be expected when Naruto, formerly Uzumaki, the hidden leader of the Wolves sat across from his mother in the home of a clan he had declared his enemy.

To Naruto's right sat Ino, who fidgeted nervously in the best clothing she had. It was supposed to only be taken out in case they needed to deal with the imperial fire court but her father had instructed her to don it this evening for a dinner between the Yamanaka, the woman who had taken control of their clan, and the young man that had brought them to their knees.

Across from Ino sat her mother who barely managed to hide her discomfort with the situation. To her left was Inoichi who managed to keep a stony face despite the uneasy feeling that filled him and the way his instincts screamed that this arrangement was balancing on a razor-fine line and even the slightest shift could send them all tumbling into a deadly situation.

To his left and directly across the table from Naruto was his mother, Uzumaki Kushina.

The two eldest Yamanaka both wore their finest clothing in the traditional dark purple of their clan while Kushina had donned a fine kimono of bright orange that might hurt one's eyes had her hair not fallen down it to break the outrageous color with the much more pleasant red of her hair.

Naruto, on the other hand, had wrapped himself in a raiment of light grey pelts that wrapped around his torso loosely and left his arms free. Simple black pants covered his lower body and were wrapped tightly at his ankles with the same bandages that kept his seal hidden from view.

Despite the clothing that Ino would have been tempted to describe as barbaric, Naruto seemed just as lordly to her as he ever had after she made the mistake of drawing his ire. In fact, he looked far more intimidating as he was now than she had ever seen him. Though at the same time she couldn't help but think the entire royal look of his would be ruined had he not tied his crimson hair back into a loose pony tail with a black cloth. Should it have been absent she was sure he'd come across as quite feral.

Of all present, he seemed the most relaxed, almost lounging in his own cushions while the Yamanaka watched on with trepidation and the Uzumaki stared in a combination of hope and nervousness.

Unfortunately, one person does not a conversation make and so a tense silence filled the air. The Yamanaka were too wary of being the ones to break it in fear of angering one of the two people who had held their fates within their hands and Kushina was struggling to think of something to say.

Things relaxed slightly when various members of the Yamanaka clan entered the room with large trays of food and gently placed them atop the table. With quick bows they fled to the sanctuary that was anywhere but that room and the occupants began to slowly consume the meal before them.

And still no one spoke, until at long last a soft yet commanding tone broke the silence.

"Ino, pass that, would you?" With his right hand he lazily gestured to a dish near her and she hurried to move it closer to him.

"O-of course, Naruto." As soon as the dish was in his hands he gave her a small smile.

"Thank you Ino. I must say, you look splendid tonight. I don't think I've seen you in that dress before."

Conversation had started.

And yet speech would do nothing to alleviate the feel of the room, as things seemed to grow even more tense with every word that left the young man's lips.

"It's reserved for special occasions." She explained simply. He raised a brow.

"Oh? I do hope you hadn't gone through the trouble of wearing it for my sake, then. This was supposed to be a friendly meal, was it not? I'm just another guest of the Yamanaka tonight; no one special."

Before Ino would have a chance to argue that Kushina's voice interjected.

"Nonsense." She spoke with absolute conviction despite the almost giddy nervousness she felt. "You are my son and the blood of the Uzumaki runs through your veins. Amongst the Yamanaka, who are sworn to us, you are a lord of the highest standing."

"They are sworn to you, Clanhead Kushina." He denied. "I bear such name no longer."

"And that is because of the Yamanaka with us now, is it not? There is no further need for your self-exile, return to us as the lord you are."

"I have no doubt I would have left the clan regardless. Our name is great and our ancestors greater, but I have no desire to forever be overshadowed by the blood that runs in my veins." He paused to think for a moment. "If anything, I should perhaps be grateful to the Yamanaka, for they had given me a reason to leave the clan that might further honor the legacy of those who came before me. To surrender ones clan to protect it, that is something worthy of an Uzumaki. I like to think, despite falling to my own pride that day, that so too did I bring pride to my ancestors."

"But they stood against you, are they not your enemy?"

"And what, pray tell, is a man without his enemies? My conflict with the Yamanaka may have been misfortunate for them but I have benefited greatly. I have no problems acknowledging that my recent success would not have been possible if not for them. Give the devil his due, some have said."

"I see." Kushina frowned deeply. She had been hoping that his sole reason for leaving would have been the Yamanaka and the control over them held by the Uzumaki might be enough to bring him back. That wasn't, however, all she was counting on. They were still his enemies and, more importantly, she was still his mother.

"I suppose there is wisdom in your words. But while you may not be an Uzumaki any longer, you are still my son. Will you not return home to me?"

He shook his head.

"My mother left four years ago, that was the last I saw of her."

Kushina did her best to keep from breaking into sobs but a single tear escaped her eye and trailed down her cheek.

"Please, we are your family. I know things went wrong, but we still love you and want to make things right."

"I have a family of my own these days." The Yamanaka immediately knew he was speaking of the Wolves. "My previous family- my mother and my sister- forsook me. I have met not my father, but would assume he too has left me."

Inoichi's eyes widened slightly. Of course there had to be a father, but he had really never given it any thought. Kushina had children but was not married as far as he was aware. It hadn't been his- or anybody's- business, so he never pried or gave it much consideration. But now, the thought brought to the forefront of his mind, he had to wonder who might have sired such a dangerous child.

He took a hard look at the face of the Yamanaka's guest and thought about any man he had seen Kushina around. The first to pop into his mind was the Yondaime himself, as the two were nearly inseparable, and at once he could see the resemblance in the son.

He nearly choked on the air at the realization.

It hadn't just been the son of Uzumaki Kushina he was up against, but the son of Namikaze Minato. There was no wonder as to why his clan had been so easily crushed by the boy. While Kushina had a streak of unmatched fury that awoke to bring destruction to those who wronged her, the Yondaime had a vicious streak that his son emulated so well it was scary.

Even more terrifying was the fact that it seemed his son was almost the opposite of the father, possessing a vicious mindset and a streak of calm wisdom.

He had to wonder how many others had made the connection. It would certainly explain why the ANBU seemed so fond of him and it could very well have been one of the reasons the Sandaime had left the boy to make his own choices.

As the state of the Yamanaka could attest, those choices had brought the young man an impressive amount of power.

He was broken from those thoughts by Kushina's choked voice.

"Your Father died on the same night you were born." She had always avoided the subject of their father. She didn't want them to think they were the product of some one night stand but she also didn't want them to try to learn his identity by looking into the casualties of that night.

Their father's identity had to be kept secret lest those with grudge against him try to sate their hate with the blood of his children.

"Then I'll go ahead and assume he was a Shinobi as most of the civilians were successfully evacuated. Regardless, he's gone and the rest left me. I'm confident that my new family will not."

"The Yamanaka are ours, they can be yours, too. You can do whatever you want to them so long as you're of our clan once more. Don't you want that?"

"They were already mine." He declared. "You simply stole them from me."

Just the idea had Kushina's heart trembling. Had he really been in control of those he called his enemy? She knew they had fallen, but that was simply because he didn't have the ability to completely eradicate them for daring to go against him, right?

But the possibility that he may have had them exactly where he wanted them- Her heart sunk. Here she was, offering them on a silver platter, only to learn that what she was offering had been taken from his own possessions.

Everything was falling apart.

"I don't understand." They were enemies, everyone knew it, so how was it he had them under his control well enough to displeased by her offering of complete, legitimate control?

"Do you really think I would come here to sit and sup with those who I considered foe? You insult me. Inoichi and I made a deal regarding the fate of his clan near the beginning and I currently have no issues with his daughter. I was going to help build them back up, you know, but then you had to step in and stop that, didn't you?" He shook his head in disappointment. "You should have looked into things more, but I digress. I had plans for the clan, but none so important that they cannot be changed. The Yamanaka have served their purpose to me well enough and if it is to be you who brings them back up to the standing they once had so be it."

"I see." She tried to wrap her head around it. Every time she looked at him all she saw was her smiling baby boy, but that's not what sat across from her, was it? No, he had grown into a fine young man, one she could proudly call her son. But she was not his mother, not to him. He had been shaped and molded by the world in her absence and she had hardly a claim to him anymore.

But she still wanted to call him hers, still wanted to wrap him up in her arms and tell him how much she loved him.

She doubted he would appreciate it, though. He claimed to have plans in motions, schemes she knew nothing about, and now she had interfered with them. He said it didn't matter, but did he still begrudge her for it anyway?

Whether or not he did, however, there was one other part that seemed to strike her. If he really had nothing against the girl and had been honest with his compliment earlier-

But could she really do that?

She crushed her hesitance.

Yes, she could. This was for her son, after all. If it made him happy and helped her get close to him once more what should she care even if half the world was to suffer for eternity because of her actions?

"I can't help but notice you seem to be on pretty good terms with Ino here," As soon as the words left her lips all the Yamanaka present froze in dread. "Perhaps something might come of that? Marriage, maybe?"

The idea of it was horrifying to Ino even though she knew he had nothing against her and her mother fared no better. It was only Inoichi's firm hand on her thigh that kept the older Yamanaka woman from doing anything that might draw the ire of the other two in the room.

Inoichi knew his daughter was still scared of the boy and the power he wielded and he also knew that the thought of being forced into marriage was something she had loathed ever since she was little. He had, or course, promised to never give her away like that, but the power was no longer in his hands and he could do nothing should Kushina decide to go through with it.

And that's why he found himself looking pleadingly towards the young man who lounged at the table of the Yamanaka.

"I have no desire for marriage anywhere in the near future." Spoke Naruto. "And I'd be surprised if I ever did. My priorities lie elsewhere."

The Yamanaka dared breath a collective sigh of relief.

"Even if she's not your wife, there are other ways you could have her." Stated Kushina. "A mistress, perhaps. Maybe a concubine or a servant. I could gift her to you as a slave, if you'd like. Even if you don't want to come back to the clan and be allowed to do as you please with the members of the Yamanaka I can still give them to you for you to enjoy."

Terror had struck itself into the hearts of the Mindwalkers. The elder two hid it well enough but their daughter trembled visibly. Seeing this, Naruto pulled her atop his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She trembled even more but made no move to resist.

"While your offer is a…gracious…one, Clanhead Kushina, had I wanted Ino here for myself she'd have already been mine. I get what you want, you see. Of course, one might also argue that she already was mine. Offering her to me doesn't absolve you of the theft itself. But seeing as you are so quick to offer the daughters of those your clan protects, where, might I ask, is your own? Perhaps in taking her I might believe us settled."

Those words shocked her far more than she'd like to admit. What shocked her more, however, was the fact that she was considering it. Naruko might be slightly upset about it, but if she was close to her brother she'd quickly get over it. Naruto could be upset with her daughter, though, but even then, would he hurt her? She couldn't see it.

And then there was the matter of keeping the family together. Naruko was still a Uzumaki, so she'd be connected to her mother still, and by being given to Naruto that connection would exist. Could that really be a possible solution to bring them all together? It wasn't what she had envisioned, but it could work.

It was after several moments of thought that she realized everybody was watching her. Naruto had raised an inquisitive brow while the elder Yamanaka looked disgusted that she was considering it and Ino seemed just a bit relieved that the attention had been shifted elsewhere.

Clearing her throat in embarrassment, Kushina responded.

"About a week ago her team set out for their first C-rank, she should be back in another week or so."

"Oh? How interesting. Where did they go?"

Everyone felt more comfortable- save Naruto who hadn't been bothered at all- by what could be considered a complete change of topic. Ino, however, was still a bit uneasy with her current seating arrangement.

"Nami no Kuni, Naruko mentioned aiding a bridge builder." All present could have sworn Naruto's eyes lit up considerably at that.

"Nami no Kuni's getting a bridge, then? That would certainly make it easier for Konoha to trade with the rest of the world. Your daughter's doing some good work."

Inoichi got a feeling that he was calling her work good because it somehow benefited the young man. He was not about to question it, however. It was obvious Naruto's plans were larger than anyone present could have realized.

"In fact," Naruto continued. "I'd like to see the bridge she helps to bring about, perhaps a vacation is in order."

"Vacation?" It was Ino who spoke up this time, craning her head back to look at him. At his small smirk she quickly turned away from him, acutely aware of how close they currently were.

"Of course, you don't think I just lounge about all day, do you?"

"But you don't have a team." She mumbled away from him, just loud enough for the others to hear. "You'd just be training then, wouldn't you?"

"My dear little Ino, just because I don't have a team of my own doesn't mean I can't go on missions. Just last week I accompanied the lovely Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko on a very well paying B-rank. I had a lot of fun with that one, actually. I'll have to see if she'd like to do it again soon."

Unlike the women in the room, Inoichi was more scared than surprised by the news. He and Anko had worked together for some time. Not as long as she had worked with Ibiki, mind you, but certainly long enough to know better than to get on her bad side.

Her being friendly with Naruto was not a pleasant thought, especially when despite the truce-like situation that had finally come about they had been dragged onto his bad side yet again. If Anko was one of those supporting him it would certainly explain why he could be so vicious.

"You went on a B-rank?" Asked Ino. Her team had done nothing but D-ranks so far.

"I did." He nodded. "It probably should have been a C-rank but the client was simply offering too much money."

"Lucky." Pouted the girl.

"You'll get a chance, Ino. Before you know it you'll be getting promotions and going on whatever missions strike your fancy."

She gave a snort. "Doubt it, Shikamaru's too damn lazy for us to ever take on better missions and I'm pretty sure enemies could bribe Chouji with food."

"Then you've got your work cut out for you. You'll need to help your Sensei turn them into proper Shinobi."

"I suppose."

Naruto grinned.

"Good girl." He ran his fingers through her hair as if she were a pet, much to her own embarrassment.

A cough from Inoichi brought attention to him.

"I do hope Anko didn't cause too much trouble during the mission. She's not known to have much self-control."

"Don't worry about it, I've spent enough time with her to know how she is. Besides, the chance to share a bed with her our hotel provided was worth any trouble she may have caused me."

Ino and her mother blushed deeply while Inoichi looked to be on the verge of a heart attack. Kushina, on the other hand, had retreated completely into her mind, struggling to come to terms with what she had just heard her son say.

They would stay in similar states until dinner ended and they parted ways.

Inoichi and his wife would quickly recover in the refuge of their guest home, Kushina would still be thinking about it when she returned to her empty compound, and Ino, who knew Anko from her fathers work, would continue to blush until late the next morning.

Naruto, however, would completely forget he had even mentioned it as he made his way to the Den to inform Sai that an opportunity to conquer wave had already shown itself.

He had more important things on his mind than dinner conversations, after all.

* * *

He'd said it before and he'd say it again; he was too damn old for this shit!

It seemed that everything was spinning wildly out of control these days and every time a situation settled it was hit by something new that started it all over again. No, that wasn't quite right, because it was the world around Naruto that was spinning out of control.

Even when they boy wasn't directly involved most of his troubles led back to him in some way.

That's not to say he was blaming the boy, oh, no. Naruto had done quite well over the years and while the Sandaime had made mistakes of his own when it came to him he was, in the end, pretty satisfied with the way things turned out.

Was the massacre a complete mess? Yes.

Had interrogating Naruto been a bad idea? Most definitely, but things worked out well enough afterwards despite the regret he still felt.

Was the situation with the Yamanaka unfortunate? Yes, things had been quite bad, but the clan head had accepted it and so it was out of Hiruzen's hands.

Nearly every issue had, in some way, turned out alright. Not in a preferable manner, but one that he could accept.

And now Kushina looked to be on the verge of undoing most of it.

Though few knew it, the takeover of the Yamanaka had made the other clans rather uneasy. If Kushina continued to push he wouldn't be surprised to see the other clans band together against her. Luckily, she had at least some reason to go after the Yamanaka and he didn't know of any other clan that may have angered her.

Actually, he did, but the Senju was made up of one member and she could take care of herself. Well, no, she couldn't, she had to rely on that poor apprentice of hers –Kato Shizune- to take care of her. The clans still respected the Senju name, but most of them had lost respect for Tsunade. So long as Kushina targeted only Tsunade and left the clan out of things then the other clans would have no reason to make any sort of move against her.

He could only hope, then, that Kushina didn't do something rash. Or, rather, didn't do yet another thing rashly. It would seem in her hurry to do things she had only created more problems for herself, problems that spawned more problems as she tried to rush through those too.

It was just a vicious circle.

And he really wanted no part in it.

Maybe he could find himself a successor sometime soon. It was only briefly that he felt guilty at the thought of leaving this mess to some other unfortunate soul but in the end he was certain a fresh perspective could do a lot of good for the problem.

At least, that's what he'd use if the council asked him about current affairs.

Of course, there was still the issue of the replacement itself. Unfortunately, the list of possible candidates was rather small.

Tsunade had the strength and probably knew how to do the job, but she really didn't have the drive or the reliability that would be necessary. Also, with the clans not holding much respect for her it would be difficult or her to properly lead Konoha.

Jiraiya, Konoha's spymaster, was a pretty good choice. He could be serious when he needed to be and had contacts all throughout the elemental nations. Unfortunately Kunoichi didn't much care for him and it was necessary for him to travel often in order to maintain his spy network. The fact that his student had once held the position and his old teammate had coveted it would probably keep him from accepting.

Kakashi was almost strong enough but didn't quite have the necessary mentality for running the village. He could manage, of that he was sure, but probably not well. And that was the best case scenario.

Other than that there was…

Well, no one really.

Danzou was too old for the position and a little too keen on war for Hiruzen's liking but other than him there wasn't anyone who could take up the position of Hokage.

Hell, at this point he might be better of making Orochimaru the Hokage. Jiraiya mentioned that his old student had created his own hidden village and while details were scarce it showed that he was better suited than anyone currently in Konoha.

That was quite troubling, actually.

It looked like he'd be here for quite a bit longer if that was the case. But, if he was stuck here, maybe he could start training someone else for the position. Just because no one currently fit the criteria didn't mean he couldn't change that with his own two hands.

Hmm, maybe his son would be well suited for the position. He had been one of the twelve ninja guardians, after all, and had connections to the imperial fire court. With a starting like that he'd just need to get a bit stronger and learn more about politics.

Perhaps if he could convince him that Konoha politics was like Shogi his son would be willing to learn.

Naruto completely ruined that like an invisible third player with no knowledge of the rules but his son didn't need to know that just yet.

Yes, things were looking up.

Hiruzen couldn't wait to retire again.

* * *

 **Originally** **I had planned far more scenes for this chapter but those I did manage to write ended up much, much larger than I had been expecting. I am, however, quite pleased with the result. I'll just have to show you all the other scenes next week in act XXVI.**


	26. Doubt

**Damn, twenty-six chapters already. I can't believe how fast time is flying. More than that, however, I can't believe that we should be breaking 200k words with chapter XXX. 100K felt like a lot to me but it looks like I'm going to have to get used to it. At this rate I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we pushed 400 or even 500k. Though I have to admit I'd be very happy to be finished with this story by 300k. Maybe I can split it into two parts or something?**

 **Other than that there isn't much to say beyond the usual thanks to ncpfan for all his help with the story.**

 **Let's begin, shall we?**

* * *

It had been months, many months, in fact, it had been well over a year, and yet she had absolutely nothing of value to show for it. Sure, it had paid well and she had been able to train to get back up to- and a bit past- her old skill level, but that's not what she had wanted.

She had to be the worst spy ever because despite her cover there was nothing for her to actually spy on.

At this point she had little more than names for the members of this organization and who knew how many underlings were in the village alone. She was certain there had to be spies of their own peppered throughout the world reporting anything even remotely interesting.

If the Daimyo of Kaminari no Kuni choked on his yakitori during lunch Pein would probably know about it. She doubted he really cared, but he would know none the less.

And while she'd like to deny it, that was pretty damn impressive, far more impressive than her own work. Hell, she was supposed to know more than any save Pein and Zetsu and yet she had no idea why they were supposed to be capturing Biju. If Pein was to be believed it had something to do with world peace, but that was just ridiculous.

No, Zetsu had mentioned the Juubi, the original Biju, but even then what was the point? Madara, or at least the bastard who claimed to be him, was supposed to be resurrected later but once again no one had seen fit to inform her as to why.

She really couldn't see the point of bringing her into this plot in order to have yet another person working in the shadows of Akatsuki when no one would inform her of the work that needed to be done.

Briefly, she had to wonder if Zetsu was somehow unable to use the resurrection technique or if Madara just wanted an Uchiha to bring him back rather than a talking plant. She really wouldn't blame him for that reason.

Of course, it was just as likely, she supposed, that he didn't fully trust the plant to actually attempt to bring him back.

Like with many other things involved in this plan, she was completely ignorant as to why the two of them were working together and what their history was.

Fortunately, she could console herself with the thought that even if she did, she doubted Naruto would really be all that interested and, in the end, she had joined this group to keep an eye out for him.

So far it didn't look like they were going to be a direct threat to him unless they tried using him to draw out his sister but even then they had no real reason to kill him. Capturing him would draw her attention and keeping him alive might keep her complacent. Once they had her they really had no use for him anymore. Chances were pretty good that they would release him but even if it came down to it she could always step in and take him for her own.

Only Zetsu would protest that, and that was simply because he'd miss out on being able to devour his corpse.

But there wouldn't be a corpse, not while she drew breath, so Zetsu would have to look elsewhere if it ever came to that.

Then again, the entire point of this was to keep a situation like that from happening. For that to work, however, she had to keep him informed of their movements and therein lied one of her biggest problems-

They weren't doing anything!

A bounty here, a mission for a village there, nothing they did so far was for any purpose other than increasing the funding they had at their disposal.

'Oh, Naruto-Kun, we killed some fucker for money today, isn't that exciting?'

Like that would be of any real help to the boy.

No, she had absolutely nothing of real value to send to the boy. She could, however, supply the names and general goal- no matter how stupid it sounded- of those within the organization. She could probably supply a little about each one of their personalities and a bit about their motives, but even that would be mostly speculation.

It was still better than nothing, she supposed.

There was still the matter of getting him the letter but she could figure something out.

After all, just about anything was better than lying around the damn tower all day.

* * *

If there was one thing about Hyuuga Neji it was his belief in fate. Now, belief in fate wasn't unusual amongst the Hyuuga, they all, to some degree, believed in it just as they had for countless generations. For how could they have remained so strong for this long were it not their fate to do so?

No, his belief in fate was perfectly normal, it was, however, the degree to which he took those beliefs that set him apart from the others. Comparing Neji to even the most devout believer in fate was like comparing a fanatic zealot to someone who had never heard of such things as fate.

In his faith he had no equal.

That in itself was not a bad thing. In fact, the entirety of the main family found it to be rather beneficial and even in the branch such belief would not be frowned upon.

There was, however, another problem.

Neji didn't just believe in fate, he believed that he knew the will of fate.

Almost like some kind of prophet.

But he wasn't a prophet and everyone knew that.- everyone but him. Again, the main family benefited from this as his belief that it was their fate to lead him and his fellow members of the branch family kept him loyal, but he was not so accepted by the branch family.

There were plenty of whispers about him being the lapdog of the elders whenever he was out of earshot.

And most unfortunately, it was not just the branch family that whispered such.

However, as pathetic as this was to an outside observer, she found the arrangement suited her just fine when she came across him while wandering the halls of the compound.

"Neji." He bowed to her even before he saw her face. The voice alone had been more than enough to tell him who spoke.

"Hanabi-Sama." There was resentful poison in his words that she picked up on clearly enough and she found it difficult to keep from smirking at the pathetic creature before her. He was supposed to be a Hyuuga, noble and proud, and yet he was no more than a dog that sat by their feet. What's worse was that he had the potential to be like the other branch members who served with pride and dignity but the arrogance of his own beliefs held him back and bound him to those he hated most.

It served to amuse her to no end.

"Tell me, Neji, have you noticed anything strange with your fellow branch members lately?" His scowl grew larger at the reminder of his status but he answered nonetheless.

"I admit, they do seem to be acting oddly as of late."

"And you wouldn't happen to know why now, would you?"

"No, Hanabi-Sama. I would not." The response brought a slight frown to her lips. Neji wouldn't dare think to lie to any member of the main family, especially not her or her father, so he must have been speaking the truth. And here she was hoping it would be easier for her to figure out what was going on.

Perhaps that was wrong. It would still be just as easy, it would simply take longer.

"That's both unfortunate and unacceptable. Something isn't right and I want to know what. I'm leaving this to you Neji. Whatever other tasks you had before mean nothing now unless they come from the mouth of my father. I expect an explanation soon."

"Of course, Hanabi-Sama. Will that be all?" She gave a quick nod which he answered with a deep bow.

"Then by your leave."

As she watched him walk away she couldn't help but wonder if he would be the best person to use for such a task. He was loyal, certainly, but he was not ell received by those he would need to be near to uncover the truth she desired.

Perhaps one of the maids could be made to talk after a few activations of the cage bird seal.

It would certainly prove faster though, at the same time, that would make things far too easy for her cousin. She'd just have to save that plan for after he'd failed his task and been properly punished.

And if he actually managed to find out for her?

Well, he should know better than to keep her waiting, she'd just have to reteach him.

* * *

It had completely fallen apart and somewhere, deep down, Kushina knew she should have expected it. He had been right, of course, she didn't look into the situation anywhere near as deeply as she should have and instead jumped headfirst into the situation using only what she had heard from others.

They had all underestimated her son and because of it she had too.

And for that she deserved her failure with the Yamanaka, accepted it, and now she needed to go after those who had rally caused her family these problems. The Mindwalkers had been far too obvious and she saw that now. Even though Ino had seemed genuinely terrified by the thought of being given to Naruto and even more so when he dragged her into his lap, it was clear that the clan wasn't about to lift a finger against him and that he was perfectly comfortable with the broken clan.

Of course, if she couldn't blame the Yamanaka for her son's distance from his family and offering them to him wasn't going to repair the rift between them, then it would reason that someone else had been the cause of her divided family. To Kushina, there was only one person who really could have been to blame.

Senju fucking Tsunade.

She had left Naruto in Konoha trusting that the slug Sannin would keep an eye on his health and keep her informed. Instead the woman had remained silent and Naruto had not only ended up in the hospital twice but had managed to start a miniature war within Konoha.

And Kushina wanted answers.

The path to the Senju compound had been taken by her countless times and she didn't even need to think about her destination for her feet to take her there.

As it would seem, just in time, too.

Tsunade's apprentice, one Kato Shizune, was just leaving the compound when she arrived. Looking at a piece of paper in her hand- likely a shopping list- she didn't see Kushina vanish in a burst of speed to appear next to her holding open the gate.

"Good morning, Shizune-San." The way she spoke was cheerful but something about it put the startled medic on edge.

"Ah, Kushina-San! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." She took a moment to notice how Kushina was keeping the compound gate from closing and gave an almost resigned sigh.

"That's fine, Shizune-San. Is Tsunade available?" The smile on her face was usually pleasant but it seemed distinctly malicious to the young woman today.

"She should be." Hesitating, she puzzled the situation over. She really should be helping Tsunade avoid the woman simply because Tsunade was her master but she had been avoiding this for far too long. The sooner the two of them got this over with the sooner they could focus on something important- like Naruto. Gods above the two of them seemed to forget what this was all actually about. "Why don't you just head on in. I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing a familiar face after so long."

Kushina, understanding that the medic wasn't going to stop her- or attempt, anyway. She knew well enough that the woman stood no chance against her- gave a much more pleasant smile.

"I think I'll do just that. Have a pleasant day, Shizune-San. I would recommend taking a bit of time for yourself, Tsunade and I have a lot of…catching up to do." The last part was practically growled but Shizune made no mention of it.

"Ah, yes. I've been pretty busy lately, maybe I'll go visit some friends" And with that the apprentice of the slug Sannin quickly made her escape.

Kushina gave a pleased grin at the sight of the retreating medic. She had always thought she was a nice girl but after that she really liked the young woman. Maybe she could convince Tsunade to give her apprentice to Naruto in order to make amends. Shizune was an attractive young woman with a good head on her shoulders, having her close to her son would make it far easier to reenter her son's life.

Placing that thought with the other ideas that revolved around the return of her son, she instead focused back on the task at hand. Her smile once more became malicious. Oh yes, it was time for a little chat with Tsunade.

The compound gate closed behind her with a satisfying click and it took her almost no time to cross the stone path to the main building of the Senju compound. The main room and kitchen were, as expected, empty, but the office and bedroom where she expected to find a hungover Sannin were too. That, admittedly, was new. For as long as she had known the woman she was fallen asleep at her desk surrounded by empty bottles or had managed to make it to her bed- usually by Shizune's efforts, she would imagine- to sleep long into the morning.

Hopefully this simply meant that Tsunade was awake and not that she had managed to escape while she spoke with Shizune. If that was the case, however, she had to give props to the young medic for managing to seem cooperative as she actively acted against her.

She'd be upset with the girl, sure, but she'd still really like her. After all, there weren't many who would go against the matriarch of the Uzumaki clan, especially when they knew how outmatched they were. Yes, she'd be quite irritated, but her respect for Shizune would only be increased.

That thought, however, would prove to be pointless to peruse as stepping into the back garden allowed her to spot the woman she was seeking.

Legs folded beneath her, Tsunade sat calmly on the back porch as she stared at the Senju gardens. A drink, as expected, was in her hand, but what Kushina had trouble believing was the fact that it wasn't Sake. The Uzumaki couldn't remember ever seeing the woman drink anything else- even water- and yet here she sat with a cup of tea.

Temporarily her rage was replaced by a disbelieving confusion and she wondered briefly if she wasn't caught in some odd Genjutsu. A pulse of Chakra told here that this was real, she was dreaming, or she was in a Genjutsu she could never hope to break free from. She couldn't decide which thought brought the most comfort.

"I'm going to assume it's you, Kushina." Tsunade didn't turn to look at her but Kushina didn't need to see her face to feel the aura of defeat around the woman. Strangely, she suspected that the defeat the last Senju was feeling had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she had been found.

"It is." Her eyes had narrowed as she returned to the anger that bubbled beneath her skin. Dream, Genjutsu, or reality, it was the fault of this woman that she didn't have a son anymore. She immediately struck that thought from her head. She still had a son, he simply wasn't hers at the moment.

But she'd make sure that changed.

Soon.

Already it had been far too long since she had held her baby in her arms. Hell, it had been too long the day after they had left Konoha. Now, over four years later, there was nothing else she could think of that she desired more.

"Then this is probably about Naruto." The woman gave a deep sigh. "Probably should have asked Shizune to stick around, she's actually seen the kid."

Kushina's vision went red.

"You mean you haven't even seen him in the past four years?" The hiss that left her lips would have put Orochimaru and all his summons to shame.

"Not once." She didn't even attempt to deny it. "Shizune's met him a few times, I've heard. Supposedly they're on decent terms. It was only recently that I learned she knew him." A humorless chuckle escaped her throat. "I was angry at first, you know, I had thought she'd bring him here knowing that I needed to see him, but I can't blame her for not bringing him. Hell, can't blame him for not coming. Did I honestly expect him to not be suspicious of a Sannin who he had no known connections to wanting to meet him?"

Her blood continued to boil as the calmness of Tsunade drained the red from her vision. Idly, she made note that Naruto already had connections to Shizune and offering her as a gift was likely to go over just as well as the Yamanaka heiress had.

"So you didn't even look?"

Tsunade shook her head, still not turning to face the woman.

"No. I arrived a day late due to some collectors that were after me. By then Naruto was in the hospital and I didn't learn that for quite some time." She gave a snort. "It was actually because of Shizune that I learned that at all. I thought he was living in the compound until she made mention of a thief she had met while shopping."

"A thief?! My son was reduced to a fucking thief?!"

Another snort left Tsunade.

"Reduced? No, Shizune told me that the kid was damn skilled, a born Shinobi. She was impressed with him, I was terrified."

"And yet you sat here in the compound doing nothing." Accused Kushina. She was so used to the Sannin being quick to anger. Was simply being sober enough to keep her so calm when faced with an angry mother? As much as Kushina wanted to start screaming and attacking the woman she could not find it within herself to surrender to her rage when the most irritable of Sannin sat calmly before her.

"I acted then, but for all the good it did it might as well have been nothing. Kurenai and myself got into an argument, you know, about whose duty it was to look after the kid. In the end we decided that the kid could look after himself but needed someone to check up on him. Your plan, I believe. Kurenai was going to send him here to the compound when she found him so that he could live with us here. I wasn't going to baby him, wasn't even going to get close to him, but he would have been provided for."

"But he never stepped foot here, did he?"

"No. I don't actually know what happened on Kurenai's side, I haven't spoken to her since." Tsunade admitted.

"I can't fucking believe you. He's your godson! How can you sit there so calmly and tell me you did nothing to help him?!"

"Because it's the truth. I should have checked up on him and then left him to his own devices, but I didn't. Every day I put it off my guilt grew just a little bit and I drank more to compensate. By the time I realized it I had drunk away years."

"I could have accepted that." Kushina growled. "It would have been better than nothing, but you didn't even give him a fucking checkup! That was the entire reason I wanted you here, to make sure he was okay!"

"He wasn't." Those two words were enough to make Kushina freeze. The next sent her to her knees. "Your leaving made it worse."

"W-what?" No, it couldn't be. She refused to believe it. She left to protect him from the Kyuubi's chakra and the harmful effects it may have had on his Chakra System.

"It was too late to stop him from being affected, it always was. Two years ago he went through chakra withdrawal and Yakushi Kabuto examined him. Apparently being conceived in a Jinchuriki caused his body to be dependent on the chakra of the Kyuubi."

"N-no."

"I'm not sure if it was good or bad that you locked him out of the compound. Allegedly some of the Kyuubi's chakra from the defenses ended up in his seal and because of it he was able to go for two years before succumbing to withdrawal. If he had access to the compound he wouldn't have made it, and yet, at the same time, we would have learned sooner. You'd have been back."

Kushina ignored the way that seemed to indicate it all went back to her. Tsunade could have figured it out even if the compound had been unlocked, that was the whole reason she was in Konoha again after all these years. In fact, it was a good thing she forgot to add Naruto to the compound after the reset because it kept him going for so long in her absence.

She ruthlessly squashed the part of her that reminded her that Tsunade had just pointed out that the two years would have been unnecessary had he not been attacked by the compound's security features as she jumped back to her feet, anger surging though her veins once more.

"I would have been back if you had just checked up on him like you were supposed to!" It was just as true as what Tsunade had spoken. In fact, both of them were right because they were both in the wrong. Only one of them had come to terms with it. "That first day you would have picked him up from the academy, looked him over, and sent for me. Hell, you could have sent Shizune after us and we would have been back by the next morning."

"Does it really matter at this point? It's done, we can't change that."

"What, so you're just going to forget about it? This is your fault!"

"And what would you have me do?" Shot back Tsunade. "Ever since I learned the true extent of my mistakes I've stopped drinking and have tried to think of a way to make things up to him. At this point, there's nothing I can do. I may have had a chance, you know, if he had ever been told about me before you left. According to Shizune he had no idea I was his godmother. Maybe if he had she'd have been able to convince him to visit me at least once. Then again, I've already said it; there's nothing we can do now but deal with the mess we've made."

"The mess _you've_ made." Kushina insisted. "You were supposed to introduce yourself to him when you returned. If I hadn't asked you to return it's unlikely you ever would have and we both knew it. He was unlikely to ever meet you and bringing it up would have made him suspicious."

"And my arrival was out of my hands, what are you going to do now, hunt down the debt collectors and blame them for all of this? Nothing here happened on purpose, but it happened nonetheless. You getting angry at me doesn't help Naruto and it doesn't help you."

"You expect me to just forget about all this? Forget about the fact that your inaction has cost me my son?!"

"It was your love for your son that ended up costing you him. You were in such a hurry to make sure he was safe that you left him more vulnerable than ever. We're both to blame, because between the two of us and a lot of bad luck Naruto has ended up suffering."

"I did everything I could for him!"

"And it wasn't enough. I've lost him too. He was my godson and I could have had another family member. Now, because I was so scared of making new attachments, I've lost that chance. You, however, still have one. Don't waste it by spending your time on me, go get your son back."

Tsunade didn't need to see Kushina to know her eyes had narrowed.

"I will, and I promise you now that after I do you'll never see any of the Uzumaki ever again." With that said she stormed out of the compound.

Still facing the garden, Tsunade's tear went unseen.

* * *

Naruko had to admit that whatever she had been expecting this was far, far worse than she had imagined. Tazuna had spoken of Gato's iron grip on the country but she had not thought about what these people would really be going through.

Trash filled broken streets just as much as the homeless did. Houses, those still standing, were falling into disrepair as those that were not housed huddling squatters that did their best to make do with whatever they could scavenge. Misery filled the air here just like the thick, oily smoke she could smell coming from somewhere she couldn't see. Hope and fear alike lit in the eyes of all who say them but in the end they were not approached.

"This is horrible." She muttered.

The woman she was escorting- Tsunami, daughter of their client- could only nod sadly.

"Gato has been destroying this country and he isn't likely to stop anytime soon. When he's bled us dry he'll tear everything down and build it up how he pleases."

"How can he get away with this?"

"He controls the economy here and the Daimyo has been silent since before his arrival. As long as he doesn't openly start slaughtering the populace no one is going to step in to stop him."

"So he slowly kills you all."

"At first, he gave us the chance to flee, but most of us couldn't part with our homes and all that we and our families have worked so hard for over generations. I can't help but think it would be better that way."

"You can't just give up." Declared Naruko.

"And we didn't, but now, with our hope gone, many have. The difference is if we had left sooner we'd already have new lives somewhere else. We wouldn't suffer, our children wouldn't suffer. There's nothing wrong with giving up if it's better for you and your family in the end. Who can count all those who have sacrificed their own dreams to help those they cared for?"

"I suppose you're right." Frowned Naruko. "But I still don't like it."

"Neither do we, but it could be worse."

"Worse? He's hired an A-ranked treasonous Shinobi from Kiri to hunt your father down and end the last chance your country has of ever recovering, how can it be worse?"

Tsunami stopped there in the street and turned to look the young girl in the eyes.

"I could be a slave right now, violated for the pleasure of those who are destroying our country. Inari could be in a labor camp or be used as a practice dummy for the forces of Gato. They could torture families in view of each other even as they had their way with the women. Our homes could be set alight while we shiver together during the night. No, things could be far worse if the men Gato hired weren't kept on such a tight leash."

Silence settled between them as Naruko tried to come to terms with what she had just been told. All of those really were far worse than what was happening, but would people really do that to one another? She liked to think there was good in everybody, even if only a little, but for Tsunami to even suggest such things made it abundantly clear that not only were there people willing to do that but many of them were around them as they spoke. It was not a comforting thought.

"So, Gato keeps them controlled?"

"No." Tsunami shook her head and the two of them began walking again. Moments later she pointed to a man wearing a mask walking down the street. "They do."

Another identical man was walking the other direction and Naruko became aware of more perched randomly on buildings as their gaze swept over the town. Further up the street two more accompanied a small group of thugs at one of the collapsed homes. Several villagers- likely representing the various families that had sought refuge within- stood by the doorway speaking with the lead thug.

She was painfully aware of the small bags that were passed to the man by the villagers. The man weighed them in his hands before grinning and tossing them to his companions with a bark of laughter. Turning , the group moved away only to stop at the next house and repeat the process.

"Who are they?"

"The Wolves." Answered Tsunami. "They were hired by Gato before Zabuza was."

"They work for Gato? Why?"

Tsunami had no real answer as she shrugged.

"He pays them, I suppose. There may be more to it, but why else do people work for others than to put food on their tables?"

"But if he's paying them why would they keep the others in line?"

"No one knows for sure. They work for him alright, collecting Gato's taxes and going after those who oppose him but there are those who claim to have been helped by the Wolves at some point. They acknowledge Gato's control over this area but work to ensure those in the area aren't taken advantage of by Gato's hired muscle."

"But if Gato was to order it?"

"I would expect them to tear through everything here like a true pack of Wolves and devour everything in sight. They are Gato's enforcers, but they are a fair group who keep our small town running. If not for them most of these families would have already been dragged away for one reason or another."

"Why would they care though?"

"If I had to guess it's to keep their employment. The longer they're needed the more they're paid in the end."

"All of this, just for money?"

"That's the world."

As Naruko watched a man present what must have been his teenage daughter to a man in a wolf mask only to be given a large bag of coins in return she felt her stomach churn. The man had run away immediately after even as the tears fell down his daughter's cheeks. The Wolf, unmoved by the display, placed his arm on the small of the girls back and began leading her away.

This wasn't right. Nothing in this place was right.

But the Wolves, had Ino not spoken of them, and in conjecture with her brother?

If these were the same Wolves as in Konoha then was there more to Konoha than she knew, a darker side she hadn't dared to imagine?

And if there was, how involved was her beloved brother?

* * *

 **Thanks for joining me, I look forward to seeing you all next week for act XXVII.**


	27. As Luck Would Have It

**Alright, eight hours late it may be, but it's here- chapter XXVII.**

 **I'm just going to say this now, but there is a scene that a lot of you are going to consider really, really weird.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help with the story.**

 **Let's begin!**

* * *

The guards had not been doubled, but tripled; security being bumped up to levels never before seen by her clan.

And yet they had still found their way inside.

In a situation identical to the last she was clad in little more than a sleep robe when she came down from her bedroom to find the representative sitting on the couch once more, two Wolves flanking her.

Had the representative of the Wolves been male she may have suspected that they were doing this on purpose but she couldn't rule out the possibility that the young woman was hoping to get a nice little eyeful.

She hoped, however, that such wasn't the case. Because while it may have given her more options for negotiation it could also turn things very awkward very quickly. She hated politics enough as it was; she had no desire for them to become more uncomfortable.

Taking a seat on one of her other couches, she idly noticed that her companion had settled himself into the couch between both groups and made himself comfortable. Evidently, he had decided after the first meeting that these three weren't an actual threat to his household. Of course, being the faithful companion he was, he had thoughtfully placed himself between them and his partner.

Luckily, the couch meant he didn't have to sacrifice comfort to do so.

Tsume could have sworn the two guards almost seemed amused by it.

The nameless representative, however, seemed as calm and collected as always.

They all sat in silence for a moment, Kuromaru staring at the Wolves and the representative locking eyes- or eyeholes, in this case- with the matriarch of the Inuzuka.

Silence, unfortunately, had little to do with their business at the moment. As such, it was quickly broken by a soft feminine voice.

"Tsume, Alpha of the Inuzuka pack, you have been provided with time most ample. Have you come yet upon a decision?"

That wasn't even a question, of course she had. Even if she didn't want to admit it her heart had been set on her choice from the very same day she had first heard the offer.

And yet, despite that, she couldn't help the nervousness that bubbled within her.

She had been waiting for this day, ready to bringer clan to new heights, but there was an uncertainty that gnawed at the back of her mind and planted seeds of doubt in her heart. This was a perfect opportunity, one that might be to perfect. She didn't actually know the Wolves or their goals, what would she really be dragging her clan into? And, more importantly, would her clan be able to handle itself amidst this new world thy may find themselves in?

That made this feel more akin to a leap of faith than any solid business dealing.

She had an idea as to what the rewards might be but absolutely no idea what the risks were. And yet, her heart remain locked on one option and one option alone. She couldn't even consider the other.

"I have."

The representative seemed distinctly pleased by that, almost as if she knew exactly what she had been thinking.

"Then tell me, Tsume, will the Inuzuka clan be joining our pack of Wolves?"

She hesitated. This was it, the very instant that could change everything regardless of what she chose. But, like the clan heads before her, she couldn't rely solely upon her thoughts. Thinking right now would keep her from doing what needed to be done. No, instead she needed to surrender herself to her instincts and go with what felt right.

"We will."

And those two simple words were all it took to shape the future of her clan.

It was slightly terrifying to think that it took no more than that to determine the lives of her entire clan. That did not make saying them any less exhilarating.

Her clan often referred to the best it had as Wolves, but these were not members of her clan. These three before her were Wolves and her clan were dogs. They belonged outside of Konoha running and hunting but her clan, domesticated as it was in comparison, belonged within the walls of this great village.

And that's why they had been chosen. Those within would act as the voice for those without, acting in their best interest. And, in return, some of the hunts bounty would be brought within the walls for her clan to share in.

Wolves and dog, working together for no other reason than to take care of their packs and, in time, take care of each other.

The packs would remain strong.

As they should be.

"I will inform Tsukiyomi-Sama of your decision. I am certain that he will be most pleased with you and your clan."

And there was the mention of the biggest unknown yet. Forget not knowing the goals of the group, she didn't even know the kind of person who was running it, the kind of person she would be working in conjecture with for the foreseeable future.

"If I am working with your pack, will I ever be able to meet its leader?"

"Tsukiyomi-Sama has assigned another to lead his pack, and I am certain the two of you will meet together in the future, but I would assume it is Tsukiyomi-Sama himself who you would like to meet."

"It is, but if I might pose a question; why doesn't he run his own pack?"

She could feel the smile that formed behind her mask.

"Tsukiyomi-Sama is not restricted to command of the pack."

The way it was spoken made it sound as if the Wolves were only one group that he controlled, could he have a hand in other organizations within and without the walls of Konoha? The thought that she was now one of those groups sent a shiver down her spine. She was infinitely glad she had decided to side with them, because it very easily could have been the ruin of her clan should he resent her for declining his offer.

"So you're saying he has others under his control then?"

"Yes, that is correct. You may meet him in the future if this arrangement proves beneficial enough but that is unlikely to happen for a while yet."

"Can you tell me what else he has his hands in so I can avoid disrupting his plans?"

The representative paused in thought. As a general rule the less she know was better, even Tsume knew that, but it was still a valid point. They couldn't have the groups tripping over themselves. Hinata was easy enough to direct as her clan was rather private and her group was hidden so no one needed to worry about her taking an action that could unknowingly- as Hinata wasn't going to purposely cross Naruto- interfere with the movements of another.

However, the more that came under Naruto's control the more they would have to reveal to keep operations going smoothly.

"I suppose I must." She eventually decided. "The Yamanaka are fair game at the moment, as Uzumaki Kushina has derailed his plans concerning them, which means the only group you would need to look out for in Konoha is a certain cult Tsukiyomi-Sama has been overlooking."

"A cult? He's got a cult?"

"Well, no, not him, but he does have the object of said cult and they are being most cooperative."

Tsume could honestly say she didn't really want to meet the man anymore. Whoever it was that was pulling these strings, they were not to be trifled with.

"I see, and where is this cult?"

Tsume knew, without a doubt, that the representative was smirking. And that, she knew, was not a good sign.

"The cult currently has its roots within Clan Hyuuga."

She choked on the air.

"T-the Hyuuga?!"

"That is correct. The cult is rather stagnate at the moment but that leaves Tsukiyomi-Sama time to finish up with the current project of the Wolves before he begins fostering greater growth."

She was almost afraid to ask.

"And what was his current project?"

"Don't you remember? He's taking over a country. It wasn't supposed to be done so quickly but recent developments have rapidly furthered his plans. I expect he'll have full control before the month is out."

That's right, she did mention that last time, but he was supposed to be setting up for a takeover, it could have easily taken years. For it to have moved up so fast meant that something was happening. The death of a leader, a revolution, civil war, perhaps. Regardless, he was about to have control of an entire country and all of its resources.

While a small country wouldn't be able to go against Konoha, he didn't have to. All those resources could be funneled through clans within the walls to use against other clans. If things went sour that same clan could flee Konoha and be granted safe haven in a foreign country. If they were lucky, Konoha wouldn't even suspect that same country as having a hand in it.

That was absolutely terrifying, but it was made worse by the knowledge that here was a cult of Hyuuga and the very same person had control of it. The representative had claimed that her leader, this 'Tsukiyomi-Sama', had control over a large number of Hyuuga, but if there really was a cult then she could believe it.

The Inuzuka were loyal by nature, the Nara lazy, but the Hyuuga were practically fanatical. A cult in their midst would be almost the same as new clan leadership should it spread largely enough.

To have the Hyuuga, Konoha's strongest remaining clan, backed by a country and executing the will of one man in the village was something she'd have never considered possible. But it was happening and, now, she was a part of it.

'By the gods, what have I gotten myself into?'

* * *

A grunt of pain was heard throughout the clearing as another page was turned.

"The point is to stick to the tree, Sasuke. You're not going to get anywhere if you keep falling off."

He didn't need to look to know the last loyal Uchiha was glaring at him from his position on the ground. Probably upside down, too. It filled his heart with joy. He really didn't know why he didn't take a team sooner, it was incredibly entertaining to make them hate him and as proved by the battle with Zabuza they made excellent handicaps.

Perhaps that wasn't too responsible of him, but perhaps you didn't get the memo that Hatake Kakashi doesn't care.

Besides, it was the brats who wanted to continue in the first place, he'd have happily turned around and locked himself in his home to read more. But no, the Uzumaki needed to help the poor people of wave and Sasuke was dying to prove himself. Admittedly, he was partly to blame for that, having continuously compared his Genin to Naruto- who, many higher-rank Shinobi knew, was both a natural and trained part time with one Uzuki Yugao throughout his time in the academy- and they didn't seem to take that very well for their own reasons.

Was it fair?

No.

Did the need to prove themselves help them on this mission?

No.

Was he going to stop?

Oh hell no!

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yes, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"You know that dance move, 'The Worm'?"

"Yes…."

"I bet Naruto could do the Worm up that tree while sleeping. You really are a disappointment."

The Uchiha's frustrated growl was totally worth it.

Now, where was he? Ah, yes, continuing the mission.

Sasuke needed to prove himself to, well, he didn't actually know who the Uchiha needed to prove himself to, but he needed to prove himself and where Broody McBroodster- seriously, was that how Obito had seen him? He really hoped not.- went his favorite pink sextoy went. On that note, Sakura followed him, too.

If it weren't because he didn't feel like dealing with an irate Kushina- one he would have to refrain himself from winding up more and getting into a fight with- or the councilmembers who kissed the Uchiha's ass they wouldn't even be here.

Of course, that also meant that if anything happened to his Genin he was free to get the fuck out and cast the blame on them rather than his irresponsible leadership. Then again, whoever thought giving a group of Genin to the man who had spent quite some time running suicide missions to deal with his loss wasn't too bright. If nothing else, he might rub off on the group and that was a rather interesting thought.

Not in the Orochimaru kind of way –in which case, he would admit that Sakura might grow up well enough, at least in the ass department. Naruko would undoubtedly be gorgeous but she would, unfortunately, be tied to her mother, which meant she would be off limits- but more to the idea that the village's precious Uchiha and the Uzumaki princess and Jinchuriki daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and his late Sensei would be running suicide missions for the hell of it with council member Mebuki's daughter.

Oh, to see the looks on the councilmembers' damn faces if that were to happen. He'd have to keep his Sharingan ready, just in case, because that would be something he'd never want to forget. Of course, his team still had a ways to go before that could happen, but he had time.

Lots and lots of time.

Though he'd probably use most of it for reading, instead.

Oh well, it seemed a fair enough trade to him.

Another thud was followed with a grunt of pain as Sasuke fell from his tree once more. Sakura was in a nearby tree cheering him on in a vain attempt to give him the confidence he needed to succeed and gain his affection. He really didn't need any confidence- he had arrogance enough for the entire team and it likely attributed to his inability to learn treewalking- and if Kakashi's suspicions were correct the only hope of getting Sasuke's affection were for Sakura to somehow become a younger sister to him.

And that certainly wasn't happening anytime soon.

Of course, another reason he didn't have it down was likely because he didn't really have anything to push him to be better. Naruko had been taught by her mother and as such had been assigned to guard Tazuna and on occasion his beautiful daughter Tsunami- he'd have to see about tapping that before his team left- which left on Sakura who's pitiful reserves made it child's play for her to reach the top.

He really should be having her walk up and down the tree to increase her reserves or have her attempt water walking considering where they were.

Meh.

She'd be fine.

Maybe.

Then again, with her tiny reserves even if she got a hold of water walking she'd quickly be drained and fall back into the water. The look on her face- and the glare she'd give him later- would be priceless.

He'd have to save that one for later, then he could have Sasuke join her. After all, two glares were better than one. Hmm, Naruko hadn't mentioned knowing it yet, maybe he'd be lucky and get all three of them glaring at him.

Of course, speaking of luck, he'd much rather use it towards Tsunami.

Her ass was amazing.

* * *

Hatake Fucking Kakashi!

That goddamned bridge builder had managed to obtain the service of Hatake Fucking Kakashi himself.

If that wasn't a sign of some god's favor he didn't know what was.

Hatake Kakashi grew up during the last war, taught by Namikaze Minato, and even with the drawbacks it had because it was a transplant the Sharingan in his possession was still fearsome. And then there were all the techniques he had managed to steal using them.

There was a damn good reason he was an A-ranked Shinobi and if he put his mind to it he could very easily find himself at S-rank.

By the grace of the gods, however, it would seem that the man wasn't interested in more power and was content where he was.

Zabuza couldn't blame him.

Hell, if not for the presence of the three Genin he had no doubt that Hatake would have been pulling massive Jutsu out of his ass and pulverized the entire clearing they had fought in. He wouldn't have even needed his Sharingan. The sheer number of techniques in his possession and the multitude of ways he could combine them matched with the fact that he was an incredible Shinobi in his own right meant that, much to his embarrassment, he actually owed those kids his life.

If Kakashi hadn't had to protect them he would be quite dead.

But, even alive, he still had a major problem.

He was going to have to fight him again.

Quitting this mission sounded wonderful right now but his luck wasn't that good. Not only would he lose a lot of face in the eyes of future employers if- no, when- word got out but he knew the resistance was still desperate for funding.

He might not care about their cause, but he did care a great deal about Mei.

If her group needed money then he'd get it for them, missing ninja or not.

That was, unfortunately, harder than it sounded.

Jobs had been scarce and many didn't pay too well because they could get a Shinobi from a village for the amount he would prefer. Unlike them, however, Zabuza needed the work and didn't have any other offers to fall back on, which severely cut his pay no matter where he went.

This job, however, promised to pay damn well and he'd finally be able to send some to Mei and her little rebellion. Everything else he had made thus far had been little more than what was required to support himself and his student-Haku- as they searched for their next job.

This had finally made it seem as though his luck was turning around and then-

Hatake Fucking Kakashi.

Had he not been bedridden he'd probably be rampaging at the moment, taking his anger out on anything he crossed paths with. This, then, was probably for the best. He'd learned early into his Shinobi career that slaughtering your client's forces was heavily frowned upon and was one of the fastest ways to get your contract terminated.

And Zabuza really couldn't afford that at the moment.

Of course, he was also only hired to get rid of the bridge builder, maybe he could send Haku to take care of it. He frowned at that thought. The kid was too soft, he doubted they would really be able to kill the old man. They could, however, abduct them.

Maybe Gato would up the pay if he delivered a living Tazuna to him. Not only would he get the pleasure of killing the man himself but he could make an example of him. Of course, it was entirely possible that a rescue might be staged, but so long as Zabuza was paid he could flee the country and be off in search of his next job before that happened.

Though, admittedly, he hadn't seen Haku much lately. His student kept claiming they were gathering herbs but they had managed to get enough to last a good month on the first outing. Zabuza had a feeling that his luck was still running out.

Hell, at this point he wouldn't be too surprised if Haku had ended up making friends with one of the Genin.

Fuck, with his luck lately the kid had probably fallen in love, too.

What next, one of those Wolf fuckers ruins everybody's plans?

At this rate Zabuza half expected it. They were a creepy bunch to begin with and he couldn't figure out their goal. They were being paid far less than he was and he hadn't heard of them before. Something was up, and he had no idea what it might be.

And, honestly, he really didn't even want to know.

No, what he wanted was a couple bottles of Sake, a few hookers, and to spend the rest of his days relaxing on some tropical beach.

Unfortunately, Zabuza was not that lucky.

Because as luck would have it, Momochi Zabuza had no luck.

* * *

Delicate fingers trailed over pale flesh unhindered. Candles, what few of them were set up around the room, cast a flickering glow of orange in the corners, providing just enough light to see within the darkness of this private chamber.

Shivers wracked the flesh, soft, shallow breaths leaving from between parted lips and still the fingers danced their path on ivory canvas. It was a ritual of sorts, one completely unnecessary but one that was performed nonetheless every time without fail.

How could it not?

Inch after inch was covered in feathery touches that dared not linger, fleeting from place to place with no real direction. It was to a song that they danced and moved, the excited beating of a new heart. The ritual was the same, the music was the same, but the surface upon which the dancers glide was new, perfectly new, and it was now that they grew acquainted.

It was familiar, yes, as all flesh is, and yet it remained strange, almost alien to the senses. It had all been felt a million times, but not like this. No, this was new, as it always was, and the flesh reveled in the familiar sensation brought new life.

It had been a long time since their body had felt like this, not just in the sense of renewed sensations but in the various changes that didn't need to be seen or felt to be known. They had changed, as they always had, but they remained the same.

Days upon days would be spent like this, trailing fingers over smooth skin and over unfamiliar curves until they were satisfied that they knew every inch of their flesh better than anyone to ever exist.

And so it was.

The flickering of candles caught the attention of two golden orbs to the picture they surrounded. Of their own will fingers continued to move down taunt skin and supple flesh.

They were watched by unblinking amethyst eyes.

Further they went as every detail of the silent watcher was taken in. Pale skin and crimson hair, eyes like gems and the slightest of smirks. He watched as fingers dipped between toned legs and others trailed up to grasp at mounds of flesh that had not been there the previous week.

Soft gasps became breathless pants and the delicate ritual was lost.

A want, a need, grew deep within them at the sight of their watcher, one they had only heard whispers of before.

They were whispers no longer.

Sweet song filled the heart within a heaving bosom gasping for precious air and the flesh surrendered to its desires. A voice joined with the silent song, reverberating throughout their private chambers, as a pleasured scream tore its way from the throat and over ruby lips.

Orochimaru had found release.

But she still wasn't satisfied.

* * *

Three days had passed since his dinner with the Yamanaka and the proper arrangements had been made. Securing a month of leave was simple when one was a reserve of his rank simply because you weren't expected to be needed anyway.

A company of Wolves were to escort him to Wave to oversee the execution of the takeover and afterwards it wouldn't take too much longer for him to be satisfied that Sai had control over the port country. Of course, that meant he'd have two weeks left of leave and for good reason.

He couldn't just occupy Wave with his forces and expect people to accept it. Gato may have been able to do it for the past few years but Naruto wasn't looking to hold on to it temporarily, it was going to belong to the wolves until the world ended or someone managed to wipe them all out.

No, he'd need backing- heh, there was a thought. He'd been backing all sorts of small groups but now needed some himself.- from someone who could keep other countries at bay. Gato had been happy to deal with everyone but Naruto simply didn't have those contacts or the knowhow for running a business.

The larger villages avoided occupying Wave to avoid conflict with each other but with knowledge of Gato's demise they'd all rush to occupy the vacuum and secure it for themselves- thorough a third party, of course- but Naruto wouldn't be having any of that.

And so, while they'd have control and that would make the villages hesitate they wouldn't stay back for long. Hopefully, that hesitation would be long enough.

Because while the villages were trying to avoid conflict with each other, the Daimyo of the various countries had no such issues between themselves. Once one of the countries had Wave the others would be able to reign in their own villages. Would they like it? No, but they weren't about to try anything when it meant they were risking their ability to trade through Wave.

There was really nothing but gain from this situation. A Daimyo would be able to use Wave to benefit their country's economy and in return Naruto and the Wolves would have the backing of said Daimyo if anyone tried to dispute their rule.

Of course, it was a bit more complicated than that. One would actually have to declare themselves Daimyo of Wave and then proceed to be officially recognized by the courts. But he wasn't going to just any court. No, he needed someone who truly could back him, and that meant going to the imperial courts of one of the six big countries. With the recognition of just one of the greater Daimyo few would try to dispute it and those that did would find themselves with financial trouble after Wave became closed to them.

Once they were recognized they would- as expected- enter into a formal alliance with the country to recognize them. The borders between the two would be declared open and international taxes would be removed from any trade that took place across it.

It was likely that a regiment of the Daimyo's forces would be posted in the country to both help protect it and ensure that they were complying but Naruto had nothing to worry about there- he fully intended to work with the Daimyo. He lost nothing from such and gained a powerful ally.

He knew Gato had a mansion and he'd probably have it given to the Daimyo to serve as both a place to keep his visiting forces and a place for him to stay should he ever visit. That wasn't likely to happen, not until Wave had recovered, at least, but the future was always open and having a foreign Daimyo stay in your country simply because they wanted to- ally or not- could only cast one in favorable light.

The fact that he was aiming at getting a greater Daimyo would only serve to make things better for his new country.

Or perhaps Sai's new country.

He really hadn't decided yet.

Sai was leading the Wolves there in Wave and would continue to do so after it was fully taken over, but he didn't know if Sai could handle- or even wanted- the position.

On the other hand, he really didn't want to be a Daimyo right now, either.

Sure, it would only really be in name, but names are powerful things.

Then again, there was little reason for him not to. Yes, he'd rather become at least a Chuunin before retiring, but even if he was the Daimyo he could continue being a Shinobi, especially if no one was made aware of his true identity- save the allied Daimyo, of course. That was not something you wanted to keep from them.

Not if you wanted their support anyway.

He could probably have Mai take the position, but then she'd spend most of her time in Wave and there was a part of him that didn't really like that thought. Keigo, he supposed, was also an option, though not a good one. He'd been proving himself competent but not only did he not have the necessary experience of leadership or the proper social skills but he was also of more use to Naruto and his Wolves as he was.

He was pretty sure Sai called the new position 'High Captain' or something in one of his reports but he'd honestly only skimmed it. If it was really important it would have been brought immediately to his attention.

Besides, it wasn't his idea to make up a handful of new ranks for his Wolves, he was fine with them as they were. But if Sai wanted to organize his Wolves differently, so be it. He had given him free reign, after all.

"Naruto-Sama." The call of his name broke him from his thoughts but he did not turn to face the speaker.

His purple eyes drifted downwards to the stone marker he stood before and he frowned.

'I was supposed to be paying you a visit, and yet here I am thinking business.'

Gently he ran his hand over the top of the grey stone and with a sigh he turned from it. He'd have to visit again when business was concluded and his mind free. At the very least, she deserved his full attention when he came to see her.

"Is everything ready Sai?" His appointed leader of the Wolves gave a nod.

"Very well, we have a long ways to go. Let's be off."

Sai fell silently into step behind him as he made his way from the grassy field of the Konoha cemetery and towards the village proper. Everything had come together smoothly, almost too smoothly, but now it was time to finish it.

Within a fortnight one of the final steps would be taken.

And with just a little luck, Nami no Kuni would be his.

* * *

 **And that concludes thiS week's performance. I look forward to seeing you alL next week for the showing of act XXVIII.**


	28. The Wolves of Wave

**The Doc manager was being rather uncooperative but the show is finally ready to start.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's begin!**

* * *

The chirping of birds mixed with the laughing of children playing on the edges of the park. A cold breeze swept through the flaming branches of gold-leafed trees. Truly autumn was the time of the great Konohagakure no Sato.

His spot at the stone table, usually cast in the shade of the surrounding trees, was now covered in a warm orange glow, one that would make many smirk at the irony.

But it was not the irony of his own seat that brought a smirk to his lips this day. Rather, it was the fact that the empty seat across from him- often occupied- was not protected from the sun as his usually was. As a result, it received the full light of the sun.

Typically the contrasting light and dark of their seats would cause the unknowing observer to make assumptions about good and evil but those who sat atop those stone seats knew better. Now, both lit to some degree, it better showed the similarities between the two usual occupants.

But neither of them truly belonged in the light.

Men of shadow, the both of them, they much preferred the true side of the Shinobi world and the darkness that filled it. The fantastical land of light was not for them. They would, however, cast themselves as belonging to it so long as it served their purposes.

It had long lost its purpose to him but his younger counterpart still made some use of it.

Some, but not much.

It would not be long now, he knew, before the light showed the world who it was that really dwelt in the shadows they so feared. That was not today, though, and so the figure gave it little thought. His own preparations had been made decades before and his position was secure. There was no point in speculating the inevitable.

He supposed that so too it was that someone like him would come along. A more human part of him whispered that he was being replaced but he had long ago stopped looking at himself as a human. He was a Shinobi- retired or not- ad that meant he was a tool. Unlike other tools, however, he was more than capable of wielding himself properly. In fact, he was able to wield other tools as well.

And that's what separated the tools that could be discarded and the tools that were vital.

He was vital.

But not for long.

Never before had the realization of his own mortality struck him as greatly as it had when he first laid eyes upon the boy that resembled him so much. And when he first shared words with that boy he had become convinced that there was another like him, that this world they called their own had spawned yet another to reside in the true shadows of the Shinobi world.

He was nearing the end of his life. He knew this, he had always known this, and that simple fact was constantly at the back of his mind. He was ending but the boy had just started, almost as if the universe itself was working to ensure there was always someone firmly planted in the shadows.

It was then he realized how replaceable he was in the grand scheme of things.

He could struggle all he wanted, but one day he would pass and one day after he would be completely forgotten.

And that's when the preparations started. Changing his own organizations structure to be more loose and adaptable as his counterpart's was. He knew not if the boy had done it himself deliberately or if it was a simple matter of employing what he found to work best for his own goals but what he did know was the structure he had chosen to employ worked only if there was a strong figure guiding it.

Without him it would all fall apart.

And that wasn't acceptable.

Just the thought that Konoha had such a weakness in the form of one man that would destroy the roots and see the great tree toppling over horrified him. He had actually become a liability through his actions and his very existence was a danger to the village that didn't even know how much it relied on the roots hidden in the darkness of the Shinobi world.

For that reason they couldn't rely on a single leader after his passing- as there was no one available that could do so- and would have to be able to act independently. While his emotional training hadn't completely removed that ability, it had severely limited it. A worthwhile trade off when he had first begun, now it was proving to be a large problem.

One he still wasn't completely certain how to fix.

And don't even get him started on the issues that would araise when the seals placed on his agents deactivated upon his death. Keeping them all loyal would be hard enough if it failed while he was alive, but dead? There would be very little other than his indoctrination to keep them loyal but without a leader that was almost useless.

There was also that whole thing about being able to divulge any information they pleased to whomever struck their fancy.

No, unless he figured out a way to solve his problems then his death would officially mark the end of Root.

His lifetime dream was supposed to last far longer than his lifetime.

"Good morning Danzou-Dono." So distracted had he been by his thoughts that he had failed to notice anyone's approach. Had he been a decade or two younger he'd be kicking himself right now but he really couldn't find it within him these days. He was a Shinobi, yes, but also an old man. Balance would be necessary.

Turning his attention to the young lady that slipped into the stone seat across from him he couldn't help but think she looked familiar and it took only a moment to place her.

"Ah, Mai. It's been a while. It is indeed a beautiful morning."

"That it has, Danzou-Dono, that it has."

"May I ask what brings you to visit an old man such as myself on this fine day?"

"Thankfully," She gave a soft smile. "Not business. With Naruto-Sama personally involved with the Wolves and their operations at the moment there hasn't been much I've needed to do and I figured I'd take a walk. Knowing that Naruto often visited you for a few games I thought I'd stop by."

The way she spoke to him felt as though she was declaring herself his equal and the mention that Naruto was only with the Wolves at the moment pointed to her having been appointed a position of command over them. The fact that she referred to Naruto as being above her, though, made it feel as though she was saying the boy was of greater status than him.

He wasn't sure if he should be amused or irritated by that.

"I see. And what might Naruto be doing that keeps him from being able to stop by himself?"

"Oh, you know, taking over a country."

He paused for only a moment.

"My, that was quick."

"That's Naruto-Sama."

Danzou inclined his head. "Indeed."

"So, about that game..."

"It would be nice to play against someone new."

She gave him a smile. "Great, I've already beaten the rest of the Wolves and can't find anyone to give me a good challenge."

"Even Naruto?" He and the boy were pretty evenly matched, if she was better than him than chances were he was about to lose to a girl not even through her maturity. He may have been an old man but he still had his pride.

"Naruto-Sama doesn't actually like the game, I haven't convinced him to play against me yet."

That was certainly unexpected.

But it brought a small grin to his face.

Naruto was certainly an interesting one.

* * *

Mitarashi Anko was bored and, as anyone in Konoha could attest, that was not a good thing.

A bored Anko was a dangerous Anko.

Of course, at the moment they had nothing to worry about, seeing as she was currently lying facedown on her couch. The television was on, turned to a random program she hadn't bothered to identify, providing some measure of background noise to the otherwise silent apartment.

Lazily her feet kicked back and forth in the air as she released a restless sigh. Days like this were extremely rare for the purple haired woman- or, rather, they had been.

Ever since Kurenai had gotten herself a team this occurrence became more and more frequent. She helped her friend train her team on some days which kept her busy but when she wasn't needed that day she could no longer bother the Genjutsu mistress.

There was little work for her to do these days at the T&I division and there weren't often missions suited to her tastes for her to bring Naruto on. Not that it would have helped at the moment even if there were missions as he had vanished. That was a bigger problems than the lack of missions, honestly, because she could have always gone to bother him in his home.

Lazing about on his couch was better simply because she wasn't alone. Even if the two of them kept silent during her visit it was far preferable to remaining in her own home alone.

She tried to visit his home earlier, actually, but because no Wolf greeted her she couldn't exactly get in and there wasn't anybody within to answer the door. She had hoped that even if Naruto wasn't available she might be able to spend some time with one of his Wolves, like that cute young woman that seemed to almost always be with him.

She was probably with him now, in fact, but it hadn't stopped Anko from hoping she might be able to spend some time trying to embarrass the girl with talk of Naruto. She was normally so reserved and stoic but once Naruto was brought up she was just so easy to tease.

And it was fun, too.

Even Kurenai would go out of her way to do it and she was always trying to be so serious.

Of course, none of this did anything to change the fact that Anko was still bored out of her mind.

Flipping onto her back with a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a pout to the impassive ceiling above her.

There wasn't anybody she could visit, they hadn't had new prisoners at work in a while and she'd already gotten bored with the older ones, and, worst of all, there wasn't' anything she could blow up.

Not right now, anyway.

Until she got her next paycheck she couldn't go purchase a bunch of exploding tags and detonate them randomly within a training ground or one of Konoha's surrounding forests. There was something satisfying about a good explosion but it was made even better when ANBU were running about trying to figure out if the village was under attack.

No one to bleed, nothing to blow up, she didn't even have enough left to go buy dango at this point, stuck with whatever was in her fridge. Seeing as she usually ate out- a probable source of her money issues- there wasn't much there.

Naruto probably had stuff in his fridge, or at least within his cabinets. Gods above his Wolves would never let him be wanting for anything they could possibly provide him, she knew that much. The only problem there was, of course, getting in.

Then again, when had Mitarashi Anko ever backed down from a challenge?

The Wolves were likely with Naruto and Mai was off somewhere- probably wherever Naruto was- which meant there was no one who was going to try to stop her.

Grinning broadly at her amazing plan, Anko grabbed her shinobi gear and raced out the door to Naruto's apartment.

She would be found well into her attempted break in by a returning Mai who, shaking her head at the woman, would hand her a spare key.

It would be a spectacular failure but at least she wasn't bored.

And for that, Konoha was grateful.

* * *

Senbon of ice crashed against chains of chakra and clattered to the ground in an ever growing pile. Next to her Sasuke's eyes darted about furiously to predict their opponent's next position.

"One O'clock, second level!"

Chains burst towards the designated mirror only to just miss their mark. The few Senbon they had managed to throw in that instant joined its brothers and sisters on the cold concrete of the unfinished bridge.

What had started as a one sided match of Sasuke vs Zabuza's apprentice had become a battle of attrition when Naruko arrived to join the fray. With her Uzumaki stamina and the ability to stop the countless Senbon she could keep this up indefinitely. Sasuke, on the other hand, could not. His Sharingan, unmatured and newly awakened, sucked chakra at an ungodly rate and threatened to completely drain him far sooner than was helpful.

And if Sasuke was to fall Naruko's ability to block the incoming Senbon would be largely hampered. At that point it would be a matter of taking the Senbon long enough for their opponent to run out of chakra.

As their opponent had demonstrated before, they only needed one good shot.

Naruko knew this was going to be close and victory relied completely on their ability to work together.

Even Sasuke was aware that neither of them would be able to do much against Zabuza's apprentice alone as even together they could do nothing but dodge and block attacks.

Their opponent didn't even seem to be trying all that hard, either.

Sending a quick look to her teammate, Naruko considered her only real chance for victory.

Her mother had told her to keep it a secret for as long as possible and she really didn't want to be judged by her teammates for it, but ti didn't look like she had much of a choice.

Creating more chains, she completely abandoned any sort of assault and instead formed a dome around the both of them.

"Sasuke." As soon as she had his attention she continued. "I might have a way to get us out of this, but it's dangerous. Once there's an opening you need to get out of here so it doesn't end up harming you."

"This is my fight." He insisted.

"This is our fight. If we loose we die. You don't have to go guard Tazuna with Sakura but you need to put some distance between us so you can join in when it's safe."

"And when will I know it's safe?" He didn't like the plan but he had no ground to go against it.

"When I'm not in a chakra-fueled berserker rage." At his questioning look she gave him the first explanation that came to mind. "It's an Uzumaki thing," Which wasn't exactly untrue. "Some of your blood awaken eyes that can copy techniques and read movements, some of my blood go into a chakra frenzy and start tearing shit apart."

And that, Kyuubi or not, was actually a rather Uzumaki thing. Not the chakra part, but they certainly had a tendency to cause a lot of unnecessary damage to things around them.

He was still giving her an odd look, but he nodded anyway. He had never heard of such a thing, but he'd also not heard much about the Uzumaki clan. Also, as not every Uchiha activated the Sharingan it was also possible that fewer Uzumaki ever awoke the ability she had claimed to have.

But he had to wonder. If this berserk state of hers was an Uzumaki ability, what were the chains?

"Got it? Good."

Reaching deep down into her chakra, she followed its path through her body and to her seal. Losing her consciousness into it she continued until she felt the volatile chakra contained within. With a deep, final breath, she plunged straight into it.

It consumed her.

A tortured scream tore itself from her lips as the corrosive chakra burned through her coils and seeped from bleeding skin. Pain akin to that she had felt when she attempted to draw this very power against her brother filled her mind and drove away any whisper of rational thought.

The cloak formed, one tail, then two, and her body changed accordingly. Her nails became claws, her eyes slitted. Whisker marks deepened on her face as her canines elongated to dangerous points. Her hair, well kept, became more like coarse fur as it was lifted slightly into the air by the sheer amount of chakra surrounding her.

Sasuke only gave her one brief look and instantly understood why he had been instructed to run. This was no longer his teammate the Uzumaki princess, no, this wasn't even human. This was a monster.

Awe-inspiringly terrible with power he hadn't dared dream of-

It was absolutely beautiful.

Just as the chakra surrounding her burned the ground and scorched the air, so too did his Sharingan forever burn that image into his mind.

As the chains surrounding them began turning red and were destabilized by the sudden influx of volatile chakra he didn't even need to think about his next action.

He obeyed.

Bursting through the rapidly dissipating chains he heard her roar with the might of an angered god.

The mirrors, just like her chains, could not possibly remain on the physical plane in her presence and were instantly shattered. Running through the rain of ice he turned as soon as he was out of the area the dome had covered.

His Sharingan protested its activated stage but he paid it no mind. He needed to see this, he had to watch the rest of this battle and bear witness to this side of his teammate.

He would not be rejoining the fight.

But by the gods he was not going to miss it.

* * *

Pain boiled through every inch of her flesh as her insides seemed to melt. The instant of agony she had felt after trying to summon the power against her brother was nothing compared to the extended suffering that resulted in forcing the cloak to remain activated.

Tears streamed down her face only to evaporate into a cloud of mist that blocked her vision. Not that it would really matter, all she could see was red.

Another roar tore itself from between bloodied lips and sent her opponent flying back. With a great leap she lunged, claws swiping wildly through the air, and with a crunch she pounced upon her prey.

The infuriating white mask was shattered under the blows of her first but a single look at the face beneath bled the red from her vision.

Without her will forcing the Kyuubi's chakra through her system it was quickly expunged by her own chakra leaving her weak and exhausted. Staring wearily at the person before her she couldn't stop from saying their name.

"…Haku…"

They gave a small, sad smile in response.

"You're much more powerful than I had realized, Naruko-Chan, I probably shouldn't have held back."

"Why?" The rest of the question went unspoken but was heard well enough.

"For Zabuza, my precious person." That was all they needed to say, Naruko understood completely how far people would go for those they cared for.

A piercing screech tore through the air followed by a thousand chirping birds. Their attention was brought to the glowing blue further in the mist. Neither could make out what was going on, but it was obviously the two A-ranked Shinobi fighting.

And the thought alone was scary.

"N-Naruko." It was pleading and told her that whatever was making that horrid sound wasn't Zabuza and she suddenly found herself conflicted. They were opponents and Zabuza needed to be defeated, but at the same time if she didn't do something she'd be essentially taking away Haku's precious person.

There wasn't' really anything else that needed to be said.

The Uzumaki valued family over all else.

Even if that family wasn't theirs.

With great struggle she managed to raise her arm in the direction of her sensei and his opponent. She could only see Kakashi because of his technique but it would be enough.

Chains without number surged from her body, taking with them the last vestiges of chakra she had, and that remaining chakra quickly snaked through the air to form a wall before her sensei. She could feel them vibrate and fall apart as his unknown technique pierced them but his momentum was halted.

It did not, however, stop the pained yell that was most certainly not Kakashi's.

She may have managed to stop Kakashi from continuing, but his arm had been able to go far enough.

The mist around them dissipated as Zabuza's chakra stopped sustaining it. Kakashi, as expected, was slammed against a wall of chains, his hand extending through them. On the other side, not too far from those chains, was Zabuza, held down by a pack of dogs and with the tips of Kakashi's fingers buried into his chest.

The fingers, however, were not the problem.

Lightning natured chakra was a nasty thing and any technique employing it was always far more dangerous than it seemed.

There was no doubt that the chakra had forced its way through the missing ninja's body and done incredible damage. In fact, if not for the dogs currently keeping him still and the fingers lodged solidly into his flesh Naruko was sure the man would have collapsed. He was, however, alive, and that was the goal. In fact, alive and incapacitated was better than she could have hoped. Not only did she not stop Kakashi from doing what needed to be done to keep the client safe but Haku's precious person was still alive.

It was obvious that they appreciated it to because a hand gently turned her face back to the opponent she was atop of and their thankful lips quickly met her own.

And while the kiss only lasted for a second, the shock lasted much longer.

"Thank you, Naruko-Chan."

The smile on Haku's face, however, was well worth it all. There was nothing she found more fulfilling than making someone smile.

Her thoughts may have continued had there not been a great commotion at the other end of the bridge. Emerging form the slowly dissipating mist of Zabuza was a sight that made stomachs drop. A group of thugs numbering easily over a hundred grinned back at the exhausted Shinobi, Gato himself standing like a commander before them. It was the figure next to him, however, that was the most imposing.

Hood drawn up and a mantle of snow white fur gently moving in the sea breeze, the High-Captain of the Wolves was unmistakable.

While the thugs behind him began laughing and Gato grinned widely he remained silent and motionless, a solid statue of might whose presence could be felt by those around him. It was no wonder the hired muscle felt so confident at the moment. Anyone with such a man on their side would probably feel invincible.

Movement form the other side of the bridge, however, left the thugs silent and Gato with a noticeable frown on his face. Even as Tazuna was escorted back behind Kakashi and Sasuke went to stand protectively over his downed teammate and her opponent the villagers of Nami no Kuni made their presence known.

They faltered only slightly at the snarling visage of a wolf and a few were seen looking around for more.

The pack, they knew, was never far.

And they were right.

Around the bridge thickened the mist, clinging to cold concrete like a million tiny hands caressing a lover. Those metaphorical hands were quickly replaced with very real hands grasping whatever free space they could and dragging up the unmistakable form of the Wolves. They crawled over the edges of the bridge just as smoothly as the fog, possessing an inhuman grace that was more flowing of being then any actual movement on their part.

Rather than stand like Gato's other forces they choose to perch themselves on the raised sides of the bridge in crouches, hands resting on one of the various weapons they carried.

Of course, this renewed the courage of Gato and his forces.

"Heh, looks like you really weren't much of a demon Zabuza. I think it suffices to say the contract is over with this latest failure which means it falls to us to clean up this mess. Isn't that right, boys?"

Behind him his gathered forces gave a great cheer.

"Gato, you bastard, I'll get you for this." Zabuza's growl was barely loud enough to be heard and earned chuckles from the business man.

"You won't be doing anything when my boys are done with you, and neither will that little army of villagers you have there. Wave is mine, if they can't accept that, well, I'll just have to dispose of them."

The thugs began laughing even louder and the villagers tensed in preparation.

And then came deeper, darker laughs.

Like a host of demons their amusement sung, filled with malicious intent and promises of cruelty. All around the thugs the Wolves laughed, shoulders shaking slightly. Some of them had thrown back their heads and let loose howling into the air with horrifying glee.

Gato, unnerved by their behavior but unwilling to stop them, pointed towards the mass of villagers to direct the demons pretending to be Wolves.

"Alright, you're free to slaughter them as you please. Whoever brings me a head of a Shinobi gets a bonus and any woman you capture you can keep!"

Another raucous cheer left the thugs as they made to follow their orders.

The blades descended.

Like a rain of death they flashed as lightning through the air, burying deep in the flesh of their targets. Blood flowed as freely as screams.

The laughter didn't stop.

With a cold dread growing in his chest, Gato turned to look at his forces.

Or what had been his forces.

Those few not lucky enough to be taken out in the first strike were helpless as those around them were slaughtered mercilessly by the Wolves he was supposed to have control over.

They joined them soon after.

Slowly, Gato turned from the sight to look towards the High-Captain.

The dark chuckle that escaped his mask told him all he needed to know.

"W-we had a contract, me and your leader, you can't do this!"

"Poor, poor Gato. You made a mistake thinking a lazy cat could ever hope to play with the Wolves." A bark of laughter followed. "You also made an even bigger mistake. Wave is not yours, it belongs to the Wolves. By order of Tsukiyomi-Sama, you are to be silenced."

One swipe of the Shinobi's tanto was more than sufficient for removing the tycoon's head from his shoulders.

Deftly catching said head he held it aloft proudly, first to his fellow Wolves and then to the gathered people of Wave.

"From this day forth, by the grace and decree of Tsukiyomi-Sama, Nami no Kuni is under the protection of the Wolves!"

It was silent for only a moment before those who had been helped by the Wolves began to cheer. It wasn't long until everyone had joined in. Gato was dead and they were being promised protection, it was a better deal than they could have hoped for.

"The Wolves of Wave!" It started with a single cry but was soon repeated many times by the newly freed villagers.

As the people of wave began celebrating and the Wolves went to work clearing the corpses from the bridge there was a ball of fire in the sky in the direction of Gato's mansion.

The cheers grew only louder.

Behind his mask, Keigo smirked.

Naruto-Sama would be pleased.

* * *

Two days had passed since the death of Gato and the takeover of the Wolves. If Kakashi was honest, things were actually looking pretty good for the villagers at the moment. After a night and day of partying the Wolves had called for the bridge to be continued and the people of Wave and been only too happy to answer them.

Vast quantities of supplies were distributed by the Wolves from Gato's warehouses and various ships were given to the few sailors still in Wave. Already Gato's things were being prepared to be shipped off to whomever would buy them.

But there was still an uneasy feeling when it came to the Wolves.

The people of Wave might have been accepting of their 'saviors' but Kakashi was a Shinobi and something felt wrong.

From what the lead Wolf- the High-Captain, he had heard them called- said to Gato he could guess that this had been planned- to some degree- for some time now. He had also mentioned a 'Tsukiyomi-Sama' which meant that the High-Captain wasn't the leader but was being directed by someone else.

Someone else who had their eyes set on wave-

Just like Gato.

Of course, it was not for him to say whether this new ruler would be better or worse for Wave, but it also wasn't his business. His job was to escort the bridge builder and protect him while he finished the bridge. From what he could see, the Wolves wanted that bridge done and would ensure its completion.

His mission had been hijacked.

Officially, too, as Tazuna decided to trust the Wolves and had declared team seven's mission complete.

That was all well and good for Kakashi because it meant he could go home to his collection of Icha-Icha again, but it still left a bad feeling in him.

That couldn't be helped, Shinobi were always suspicious, but there was something off about the High-Captain personally offering him any assistance he may need before leaving with a salute-

The Konoha salute.

* * *

 **I look forward to seeing you all again next week.**


	29. Child of Aū

**And here we have act XXIX for your reading pleasure. Unfortunately, I also have a bit of bad news.**

 **While working on this chapter earlier I received a call and, better yet, a new- and more importantly full-time- job. While this is good for me, it also means my free time will be cut down dramatically and chapters will become difficult for me to write. I'll be starting earlyMmonday morning and continuing through Friday.**

 **In any other case, and as likely to happen within the next few weeks, I would have simply moved my writing day. Unfortunately, I won't be giving my two weeks notice to my part time job until I go in tomorrow, which means for the next two weeks I should be working every day.**

 **On a brighter note, after those two weeks I'll have a week long break before I'm needed again at my new job. So, while I may not have a chapter for you next week- and if I do it won't be the 10k word chapter it should be- I will do my best to make it up to you all during that week off.**

 **That is assuming this new job works out and I don't find myself quitting my current job for nothing, of course.**

 **Should that be the case, we'll just have to hope for the best and we'll see what becomes of my writing schedule afterwards.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's get started, shall we?**

* * *

Wave had changed and she almost couldn't believe how quickly. It was less than two weeks ago that Tsunami had taken her as an escort through the market place and she had been appalled by the way the people of the country were living. Now, mere days after the Wolves had turned on their employer everything seemed to be turning around for the citizens of Nami no Kuni.

No longer did people huddle in gutted buildings but rather used the resources within Gato's vast warehouses to restore them to what they once were. The docks, once filled with nothing but the quiet murmurs of workers and the occasional drunk laughter of Gato's forces were now filled with energy as wares were loaded of and on repossessed vessels. Children happily watched the new sailors scurry about as they waited for a fish to bite their line so they could bring fresh food back to their families.

There was hope in the air once again for the first time in years and yet she couldn't help think there was something off about the whole thing. Peering from crouched positions on the very buildings workers were restoring were snarling masks, their gaze capturing everything that happened within their new domain.

Small patrols moved through the streets further insuring order within the busy town and yet feeling isolated from the world in which these people lived. There was an unmistakable distance between the people of Wave and their saviors.

The distance between man and beast.

Naruko didn't know what to make of it.

The people were happy, but for how long? Where the Wolves like this only because foreigners- her team- were present and wished to avoid drawing more attention from one of the five greater villages? Would everything change once again upon their departure or was this to stay as the new Wave, a place of hope and joy?

Perhaps that was what bothered her. While people were still celebrating as they worked, filling the air with sounds of laughter and cheer, they were watched by the cold-hearted visage of wolves. The Wolves did not utter a sound if they could help it, keeping a daunting vigil over the village. It was, perhaps, this clash that set her ill at ease.

Her blue eyes moved from the town and its self-proclaimed protectors and back to the bandages that covered her body.

She knew it was a horrible idea, but what choice did she really have? Once there was a time that she'd have felt nothing but a comforting warmth when attempting such, now there was nothing to greet her but the merciless fire that sought only to devour her flesh in its maddening power.

But the pain it brought, the utter agony that ripped through her body and burned at her mind, held nothing compared to the last time she had gazed into the eyes of its true mistress.

Those furious eyes had burned an unholy red, filled with such anger that she could hardly think straight looking into them, and each word she had uttered that day was a cracking hiss spewed from between painted lips. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had not been pleased.

And she knew why.

Long standing had been their simple agreement, one desire for another. It had seemed so easy back then, to provide the ancient being of chakra with what she wanted. After all, she too was looking forward to seeing her brother again.

Things had not been so simple.

Her brother had changed while they were away, molded by a world without them, and his new world had no place for them within it. He was no longer the boy who would do whatever he could to ensure she was happy and taken care of, but a cold young man who would lift not a finger to aid her. She was a stranger to him, a nobody, and despite the pain she felt at thinking that she could only imagine the suffering he must have endured in order to be turned into that.

But he was still her brother and she still loved him.

And then she had done the unthinkable. Angered that her clothing had been removed by his blade and hating how helpless she had felt she lashed out at him, the very one who had been ensuring not a scratch had befallen her throughout what was supposed to be a friendly spar.

Her chains, the chains of the Uzumaki clan, had drawn the blood of kin-

It was not enough.

She had tried to go farther, to completely crush him with her abilities, but he had not allowed it. With ease that spoke of mastery far greater than she could ever hope to achieve he, the one who had not even received the training for those chains from their mother, had summoned his own and completely crushed her attack.

And then she had made her final mistake, one that outshone the others like a million suns to a dying ember at noon-

She had attempted to use the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune against her brother.

The deal with Mito, the Kyuubi herself, was that in exchange for that very power she would reconnect the ancient Biju with her brother. That alone should have told her that trying to use that power against him would never work.

In her anger, she tried anyway

The pain then was nothing compared to the guilt she felt later.

But that guilt hadn't stopped her from confronting the Biju about it.

That, too, was a mistake.

When she first met Mito she was begging to be reconnected to her brother with a desperation that was more suited to a heartbroken widow than a being of untold destruction. Somehow the Biju had known her brother, had at one time been connected to hi, and was now separated. She had never asked, never questioned, and perhaps that was yet another mistake on her part.

It was evident that her brother meant a lot to the ancient being and by trying to use their power against him she had not only angered them but made it even harder for her to uphold her own end of the bargain.

She would never forget the pure rage and sheer malice that was reflected on the elegant face of her ancestor as it sneered down at her in contempt.

It were her first words that struck the hardest.

 _'You will not harm him!'_

But those that came afterward hurt no less.

 _'Even if you were to grow stronger than him he will always be greater than you. You and your mother have already destroyed him once, you will not bring him down again.'_

There was guilt in those words, she thought, as if she too had harmed Naruto, but it was buried deep under her anger at her prison.

Naruko couldn't fault her for that, she had been angry at herself as well.

And while she was upset that the Kyuubi had withdrawn her help controlling her power she couldn't fault her for that either. After all, she had attempted to use it on the Mito's precious person and that was unforgivable. At least she had not been completely barred from using it, which meant their deal was still alive. Should she manage to return Mito to her brother they could all be happy.

Or that's what she hoped, at least.

"Naruko-Chan!" The soft voice of Haku was unmistakable to her and she turned to her friend with a smile, her thoughts temporarily pushed to the back of her mind.

She was also aware of nearby Wolves turning to look. Whether it was out of curiosity, because they had a connection to her brother, or because Haku was the apprentice of a missing ninja as infamous as Zabuza she could only guess.

"Haku, you're still here? I thought you and Zabuza would be long gone by now."

Haku shook his head in the negative.

"I was actually just about to head out. Zabuza's started already but his injuries are still taking a toll on his body so I should be able to catch up to him long before he reaches the border."

"Oh, well I hope he gets better, I know he means a lot to you."

"He does, but you're very important to me too. I wanted to be able to say goodbye."

Naruko gave him another smile.

"You're important to me too, Haku. I don't have many friends."

The ice user seemed a little bit disappointed at her words for some reason but Naruko couldn't tell why.

"I also wanted to thank you again for saving him, I hope your Sensei wasn't too hard on you about that."

"No worries," Naruko waved off the concern. "Kakashi-Sensei's pretty laid back. He just shrugged, told me not to do it again, and then proceeded to tell me my brother would have found a better way."

"You have a brother?"

"Ah, yeah." Seeing she was uncomfortable with the subject, Haku apologized.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine." She assured him. "We're having some family trouble at the moment but I'm hoping we can fix it soon."

"I see." It was evident Haku wanted to ask about it but they moved on regardless. "In any case, I really should be going. Zabuza shouldn't really be traveling right now, especially not alone."

"Oh, well, maybe we'll see each other again someday, Haku."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Before Naruko realized it a pair of lips were pressed against her own. Just as quickly they were gone, leaving her to stare dumbfounded at the softly smiling Haku before her. "Sorry, I just wanted one last taste."

Her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened but she did admit that there were far worse looking boys who could have kissed her. She hadn't meant very many young men that she could honestly describe as 'pretty'.

As Haku went to leave they paused for a moment and turned back to the still shocked Naruko.

"Oh, by the way, I really am a girl."

"Eh?!"

With nothing but soft, tinkering laughter, Haku was gone, leaving a blushing Naruko in her wake.

* * *

The small waves crashed gently against the shore of a land that shared their namesake. The ocean breeze was pleasant in the late morning as the sun warmed the land and banished the last remnants of that morning's fog.

Sitting on the wooden pier just outside the home of Tazuna the bridge builder with a knee pulled to his chest, Sasuke idly swung his leg mere centimeters over the water. Should the wind pick up any more he was certain his foot would be soaked.

This did not bother him, however, as his mind was far from the world around him. Actually, it was not as far away as he may have liked, for his teammate was somewhere in the nearby town. Ever since witnessing the power she held within her there was little else Sasuke was able to think about.

This was not in the normal sense of how he too might obtain such power, but rather how she acted with it. It did not look easy for her to call upon or control and every second she accessed it seemed to pain her greatly, but the second she recognized who it was behind the mask all that power and the feeling of unbridled fury that had filled the air vanished without a trace.

If she was really that desperate for the power, if she was really willing to suffer through it, why would she stop? Couldn't she see that it was all for naught after that? And for an enemy? But, at the same time, had she not entered into that incredible form to protect him, her teammate?

Sasuke was well enough aware that he was the biggest liability in that battle simply because his Sharingan were newly awoken and were draining him too quickly to be as useful as they should have, and while that hurt his pride he cared far more about the odd behavior of Naruko.

He had always believed that others made you weak and he could use the fact that just knowing who their opponent was made Naruko cast away her power, but at the same time it was for others that she ended up calling upon that power.

Did it really not matter as much as he had thought?

Was it, perhaps, completely unrelated?

Did power, true power, come from some other source that couldn't care less how few or how many people you surrounded yourself with?

Then there was the fact that she had stopped Kakashi from killing Zabuza. While she didn't completely stop the attack, was being able to decide who lived and who died not power in itself?

In the end, his thoughts got him nowhere and he was still no closer to understanding Uzumaki Naruko.

But that was okay, because he still had plenty of time.

* * *

He made no comment as he felt his apprentice take their place behind him, nor did he mention the satisfied smile on her face when he spared her a quick glance.

It was god that she was happy, however, as things were not going to look good for them in the foreseeable future. Recovered as he was, there was still a long time until he'd be back to where he was before this godforsaken mission.

It most certainly did not help that all of it meant nothing in the end.

His employer being dead and with the mansion having been blown up, he was fortunate that the Wolves hadn't tried to kill him. Taking only the minimum amount of time necessary to heal so he would be able to get the fuck out, he left as soon as he could.

He didn't know if Wave would stay like this or change back the second the Konoha team was gone but he really didn't want to find out.

They were out quite a bit from their journey here and there wasn't much left, but they should be able to make it back to Mizu no Kuni and find Mei. She'd need to know about the Wolves that had taken control of the port nation, especially if she later considering hiring their services.

Sure, Gato wasn't the best of people, being the little shit he was, but he was still their employer.

That was, at the very least, something to be cautious about in the future.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself, Haku." He eventually spoke, voice gruff. "Because this is going to be a bitch to explain to Mei."

A small giggle was the immediate response followed by her soft voice.

"Oh, yes, I'm quite glad I took the chance to steal another kiss from Naruko-Chan then, it may be the last."

He managed to resist the urge to bury his face in his hand.

"At least some good came from this for one of us, I suppose."

If only he had managed to get ahold of some of Gato's finances or could keep Mei from being upset by giving her a kiss.

Alas, Zabuza was not that lucky.

* * *

A group of villagers had come to see off the Konoha Shinobi that had protected their bridge builder and provided the opportunity for the Wolves to strike at Gato.

Sakura smiled lightly to all those that wished them well, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

Sasuke remained silent and unmoved, but his usual scowl had been replaced with a thoughtful frown. It was not a very noticeable change but his team could tell the difference.

A bright grin split Naruko's face despite the feeling of unease that still lingered at the thought of leaving these people- quite literally- to the Wolves.

Kakashi had a distinctly pleased smirk easily seen through his mask. One hand held his opened copy of Icha-Icha and the other was lazily placed in his pocket where he idly fingered the pair of panties Tsunami had shoved into his pocket after a night of celebrating.

Or maybe it was for a job well done.

He couldn't quite remember what reason she had given him and he doubted she did either. After all, they both new it was just an excuse for a bit of fun.

Maybe when the team got some time off they'd come back to visit, you know, for nostalgia's sake.

Also because he really wanted to hit that again.

By the gods, that was almost worth going missing-nin for.

The wonders of women aside, the completed bridge spread behind them, unnamed, and ready for them to cross. Tazuna was at the head of the group there to see them off, having just declared the bridge complete. Team seven would be the first to cross it, or, that had been the plan.

As soon as Tazuna's eyes had widened Kakashi spun around, abandoning the panties in his pocket for a kunai from his leg. The first form at the edge of the bridge was hidden well enough by the scarf wrapped around their lower face and the hood of a traveling coat pulled over their head. As the cloak was left open it was easy to see the tight grey shirt and black cargo pants the person wore. A small bag sat across the small of their hip and just peaked out enough to be seen.

There was a blade, completely wrapped, atop that bag. It would not be easily drawn in battle but with the familiar sight of snarling wolf masks surrounding him that didn't seem like much of an issue.

They did not hesitate to cross the bridge with their escort trailing behind and did not pause when they reached the other side, moving instead to meet with a group of Wolves that approached from the direction of the village. The white fur mantle of the High-Captain was unmistakable as he stopped before the cloaked figure and snapped instantly into the Konoha salute.

Behind the cloaked figure a Wolf wore a similar mantle in bright red who waved off the High-Captain and gave orders that couldn't heard by those near. With but a nod the High-Captain began leading away the cloaked figure and the other Wolf who was no doubt a superior.

The three Gennin watched the newcomers intently and the villagers seemed wary. As if they hadn't just entered like they owned the place- though considering their company they just might- the cloaked figure followed after, sparing only a glance back at team seven.

Kakashi could have sworn two amethyst orbs had been hidden in the darkness of their hood.

"Sensei-"

"No." Kakashi stopped Naruko before she could finish asking. "This is no longer our business, it's time to return to Konoha."

While it may have been coincidence that they came from that direction, especially considering that was the only bridge in the area and there were Wolves here in Wave who could have informed them of such, that was also the direction of Konohagakure no Sato.

Considering their salute, Kakashi had little doubt that these were the same Wolves that the Yamanaka had claimed to exist.

The same Wolves that Naruto seemed to associate with.

"That may or not be him." Continued Kakashi. "And it's just as likely he's only a figure head. They could easily have the backing of some noble family who wanted Wave and be acting in their interests."

"So you don't think that's Tsukiyomi?" Asked Sakura, her eyes never leaving the figure.

"No, it probably is. I'm just saying that they might not actually be at the top. But, even if they are, our work here is done. What happens next is out of our hands."

Sakura nodded in understanding.

Maintaining his frown, Sasuke turned from the group and began walking down the bridge towards their village, Sakura scurrying to catch up. Naruko also frowned, uncomfortable leaving this town in the hands of unknowns but relented anyway, moving to join her companions.

Turning back to the people of Wave, Kakashi gave an eye-smile.

"We're glad we were able to help, expect us to visit when we can. We'd really like to see what Wave can become now that it's out of Gato's hand."

The silent promise that they'd be back to check up on the village was understood well by the villagers, and for that they were grateful.

None more so, however, than Tsunami, who rushed over to Kakashi and slammed her lips to his mask.

Oh yes, they'd definitely be back.

It was good to be Kakashi.

* * *

The sea breeze was the first thing he noticed about the small town, a pleasant change from the forests of Konoha. The second was of course the size. This country had the potential to be one of the wealthiest in the world and yet it was just so small. Once everyone was properly settled he'd have to see about expanding this small town into something more grand. Perhaps he could offer sanctuary to some clans that were having trouble. That would not only rapidly expand the town but would provide new trainees to be inducted into the Wolves.

That would have to wait, however, as Wave was not quite ready yet.

The High-Captain directed them through the village and into the surrounding woods before changing direction and heading towards Gato's mansion. Stepping around a large, scorched clearing, obviously man-made, they were soon before the two storied mansion Gato had been so proud of.

Various Wolves stood guard around the perimeter, snapping into salutes as soon as they saw who it was that approached.

Stepping into the grounds Naruto had to admit that the man had done well. The gardens were simple but low maintenance and immediately separated the mansion from the surrounding lands. The mansion itself was built quite solidly balancing appearance and function. No doubt this was to be just as much a fortress should things go wrong as it was to be a palace should they all go right.

Unfortunately for Gato, he had not been in his fortress when things went wrong.

Moving through the wooden doors, he noted with some admiration that there were actually two doors of fine wood with a large plate of metal between them making up each of the doors for the grand entryway.

Had the man only been dealing with civilians and bandits he'd have had success all but guaranteed. Of course, once Shinobi were added to the mix all bets were off. He would admit, however, that the building would have at least been difficult for an experienced Genin if only because it didn't seem as fortified as it actually was.

The mansion was a nice bit of deception but he was willing to bet that it was more to make the place pleasant to look at and live within than it was to make people underestimate the defenses. Either way, props to whoever designed the place.

And, he supposed, props to Gato for hiring them.

When the doors were shut behind them and Wolves had taken up defensive positions around them Naruto removed his hood and scarf, shooting a pleased grin to his High-Captain.

"High-Captain Keigo, well done, you've done the pack proud."

"Thank you, Tsukiyomi-Sama." Keigo had moved into the Konoha salute at the praise and one could practically feel the satisfaction rolling of the man at having pleased their leader.

"There is no need to thank me, High-Captain, the pack thanks you. I wanted Wave and you've delivered it to me. Now we finally have a place of our own."

The High-Captain stood just a little taller.

"Everything we need is in his study, yes?"

"Yes, Tsukiyomi-Sama."

"Then you are dismissed for the rest of the day, spend it how you wish."

With a final salute he excused himself and Naruto started up the grand staircase to the second floor. Gato had certainly poured a fortune into this place, probably enough to run a small country for a few years- oh, yes. That certainly would be something the business man would do, wasn't it?

No matter, it was his now and the people would be taken care of with money from Gato's coffers.

Or, they would for a while yet. As soon as they could support themselves he'd back out and let them do their own thing. He understood why Gato had been sucking the place dry, but it really wasn't the best option. With a reasonable tax and the proper protections in place to ensure no one interfered with his country he'd still make a killing off the people of Wave.

It would have been slower and people would have stayed but he could have just as easily started buying up peoples land until everyone was forced away. There wouldn't have been anything anyone could do against that.

Oh well, his loss.

The office was easily enough found, being the room directly at the top of the staircase, and opening it showed a room that had been torn apart. Just from a quick glance he could see three separate safes that had been hidden throughout the room. Two were in the walls and another was under floorboards.

There was a corner of the room untouched, or, rather, that had been put back together passably enough, and that's where Gato's desk had been moved. Stacks of papers covered it and boxes surrounding it contained more. Atop one of the boxes was a plain sealing scroll that no doubt contained the valuables hidden within the found safes. Pleased, Naruto carefully made his way across the torn up floor and over to the desk to see what they had for him.

He wouldn't even try getting through it all this trip, if ever, and he was rather relieved that he'd be pushing this all into Sai's lap. To take care of. A lot of it would make its way back to Mai and a good portion of that would undoubtedly be placed before him again, but it was better than going through all of it.

The Hokage really should have thought about hiring a few more secretaries to sort through his paperwork for him and perhaps even a full administrative team. Considering the amount Konoha seemed to generate (though no one could figure out why) it seemed rather called for.

Then again, if he wanted to go through every scrap of paper filled for the village he was welcome to. Maybe it was a hobby of his.

Leafing through the papers it was easy to see most of them were finance related and likely only kept as records. That also meant it was unlikely that anything contained was illegal which made it pretty useless for Naruto.

Actually, it made it useless for all of them. He'd need to find someone to run the business side of Wave because Sai was hopeless with money and Mai already had enough on her plate. He paused for a moment at that thought.

He had at least one clan back in Konoha he could use and a good portion of another. Establishing some Hyuuga here would be pretty good, as would giving them a position in which they had some control, but as long as Hinata was in Konoha it might be a bit difficult to arrange without people becoming suspicious.

Mainly without Hinata's followers getting suspicious.

That left the Inuzuka, and they were far more free to serve. Then again, they weren't regarded as the brightest bunch, far more impulsive and brash than what would be required of them here. The main family, however, claimed to be more knowledgeable as they would need to be in order to manage their clan.

If that was true, they might be just what he was looking for.

The youngest, Inuzuka Kiba wouldn't be any help. He didn't seem to possess the intelligence of the main family or chose not to demonstrate it if he did, preferring to be a brash as his cousins within the clan.

Tsume, the head, was an excellent choice but it would be difficult for her to get away from her clan for long periods of time to manage business in Wave and he was willing to bet a lot of her time was already taken up by her management of the clan.

She did, however, have a daughter, if he remembered correctly.

That could work, that could most definitely work. Dealing with business in Wave could be seen as good experience for heading the clan and giving her such a high position would help solidify the relationship between the Inuzuka and the Wolves.

It might be hard to convince them to send their heiress to Wave with them, but they wouldn't have any problems with an Inuzuka guard being stationed here to ensure this wasn't an elaborate kidnap attempt.

Of course, should she end up in a relationship with one of the Wolves during her stay or, better yet, Sai, then the ties between her clan and his Wolves would only be strengthened. Assuming they don't have a messy break up, of course, that could set things back between the clans tremendously.

Naruto idly noted that business relations seemed needlessly complex when they should be, in theory, incredibly simple.

Her guard might end up in relationships too, though, and that would create better bonds, even if the heiress's relationship became a nightmare. Considering Sai was the best choice, it seemed pretty likely.

Ah, no matter, if it happened he'd deal with it then, but for now he'd need to contact Tsume through Mai and propose the arrangement. Maybe some gifts from Wave first, a house, too, for the heiress while she stayed here. They'd also need a place for the Wolves so that Gato's mansion could be available for a Daimyo. Though whether that would permanently belong to that Daimyo or just be used for any visiting Daimyo he had yet to decide.

Shaking his head, he quickly scratched his idea down and shoved it into a pocket before writing a more proper- though certainly no longer- message.

"Come, Sai, we need to take care of one last thing before we get to work."

Without a word Sai fell behind Naruto and followed him out into the gardens.

Finding a place to stand directly in the scant sunlight of the usually cloudy sky of Wave he pulled his amulet from beneath his shirt and made sure the sun was caught on the golden coils. Cutting his thumb on the edge of a Kunai he rubbed a generous amount of blood around the Amulet of Aū until the gold glow of the sun it reflected became crimson.

In a small flash of the same red light a golden serpent not much longer than Naruto's arm was coiled on the ground before him.

"High priest." It greeted him.

"Child of Aū," He replied. "I would ask for your aid, will you grant it to me?"

"Of course, what is it you ask?"

"This message," He showed the rolled paper to the serpent. "I would that it be delivered to the holder of the snake contract."

The snake gave a nod.

"Give it to me." It instructed. "It shall be done."

As soon as the paper was held out to it the snake struck out and took it into its mouth, disappearing in a flash of red.

Giving a small grin, he lightly caressed his amulet with a clean finger, noting with some amusement that the blood that had covered it was gone. This was perhaps the most useful gift Orochimaru had sent him so far, he would certainly have to thank them when he eventually met them in person.

Speaking of thanks, he looked to the sun as it was hidden behind a softly floating cloud and whispered quietly;

"Thank you, child of Aū."

Despite the fact that the sun was hidden behind the clouds, he could have sworn the amulet briefly glowed at his words.

* * *

 **That will conclude tonight's performance. Hopefully luck will be on our side and Act XXX- even if only the first part of it- will show next week. For now, however, I bid you all a temporary farewell, I pray it will not be for long.**


	30. The Serpent and The Raven

**Alright, after three long weeks, I'm back. Things should be just about back to normal after this with the only major difference being updates moving to Saturday evenings. (That's the plan, anyway.) The double chapters might eventually stop depending on how things go but for now they're likely to stay.**

 **This chapter was a major pain to write over the last week but 17.5k words is 17.5k words and I'm sure you'll all appreciate a larger chapter.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for all his help and to everyone who wished me luck with my new job. So far it's been pretty damn good, though exhausting.**

 **Now, that's enough of an AN for now, I know what you all really want to see. With that said, let's not waste any more time.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

None of the nervousness she felt was reflected upon her face as she made her way through the town she had lived in her entire life. A soft smile graced her lips and she cheerfully returned every greeting sent her way. The people were doing better these days, far better than they ever had under Gato. She almost didn't dare hope, but it looked like things might end up better than they ever had been even before Gato's arrival.

Of course, the past few years left her unable to hope so foolishly that such might come to pass. If it did they were fortunate, but she would not get her hopes up. As far as she was concerned this was the best it was going to get.

The fact that it was a noticeable improvement, however, helped keep that small smile on her lips. Even if she wasn't hopeful and this was the best things were going to get, she was still thankful for the change these Wolves had brought to the country of her birth.

Peering up from her surroundings she was greeted by grouching Wolves who watched everything like the eyes of an ever-present god. As far as some within Nami no Kuni were concerned, they were. The fact that their leader felt it acceptable to call themselves 'Tsukiyomi' after the god of the moon certainly added to that.

It was a foolish thought, one that most of Wave was aware of, but no one would try to persuade the few believers otherwise. If that's what they wanted, what they needed, then they could have their god. Tsukiyomi himself had spoken neither for nor against it and the Wolves had various reactions to it mostly centered around appreciation and amusement.

It would seem even they were not in full agreement about their leader's divinity.

Checking the bundle of cloth in her hands once more she ensured herself it was still present. Great lay or not, she couldn't believe she was about to do this just because the lazy pervert had asked her to. He had promised that if this Tsukiyomi was who he thought it was then she and her family would be placed in a rather favorable position by this and even if they weren't the item itself would likely serve well enough as a gift to get into their good graces anyway.

Of course, immediately after saying that and handing her the item he had taken one last feel of her rear before placing a quick, covered kiss on her lips and disappearing to rejoin his Genin team who had already started their journey back to Hi no Kuni and Konohagakure no Sato.

That damn pervert's inability to keep his hands to himself was sometimes as irritating as it was flattering. She knew well enough that she was an attractive woman but it had certainly felt nice to be reminded by someone else. That said, it also kept that thought in the forefront of her mind as she sought to accomplish this task.

It was no secret the Wolves had been happy to supply money to families during Gato's reign in exchange for wives and daughters but even though Gato was now gone there didn't seem to be any sign that those woman might be returning. Even if someone were to scrounge up the amount that the woman had been originally sold for the Wolves didn't appear all that interested in selling them back.

Of course, there was also the fact that no one actually knew what had become of those women. Were they simply being kept somewhere safe? Were they working for the Wolves cooking and cleaning? Had they been sold to other slavers at a higher price? Perhaps they had been given to Tsukiyomi as a gift upon his arrival or maybe they used them just as Gato's forces would have, raping them to their hearts content to satisfy primal urges?

There was no way to tell for certain without finding one of those women but even then they weren't guaranteed to be willing to share their experience with others.

It was the general consensus, however, that they were probably better off with the Wolves than they would have been with Gato. It was wishful thinking, or that was her opinion, but it had some merit. After all, not only were the Wolves' use for the woman unknown while Gato and his men's actions would be obvious but even if they did the exact same thing the Wolves, cold and unfeeling as they seemed, had always treated the people of Wave better than Gato's forces had. Both did the same job but people would much rather deal with the Wolves.

That hope was that would carry over to the Women in their possession. Actually, if one really thought about it, any woman who went missing before the Wolves arrival would be the only real way to tell how the guests of the Wolves were being treated. Having experienced Gato's hospitality before the Wolves claimed them, only they would be able to accurately describe the situation those wives and daughters now found themselves in.

The fact that all those women had been 'fairly' purchased, however, did not make her feel any better as an attractive woman who sought to meet with their leader. The plain blouse and well-worn skirt were not eye catching in any sense but they fit her well enough to show her rather generous womanly curves and that was far more advertisement than she'd have liked.

It was a double edged sword, she knew. On one hand it might help convince the Wolves to let her approach their leader, but on the other she might not return afterwards. Already she could feel the eyes of Nami no Kuni's silent protectors drinking in her appearance and the sneering faces seemed to become lecherous leers. It was probably her imagination and it was unlikely that every Wolf she passed was eyeing her like a piece of meat but it certainly felt that way.

Perhaps she would be lucky to make it before the one who called themselves Tsukiyomi. If she did her gift might please him enough to have her let go. She wouldn't have that chance if the Wolves decided to take her now and she never meet the man.

The thought that she was safer at the mercies of the Alpha and his whims when his Wolves had already demonstrated their vicious might and dark cruelty upon the forces of Gato did not comfort her.

But it certainly provided ample drive for her to arrive before him quickly.

Leaving the streets of the village for the clearings that surrounding it only severed to focus the attentions of the Wolves on her further. That was no surprise, as she was headed in the direction of Gato's old mansion. Kakashi had assured her that even if the mansion really was destroyed there was no way in hell the Wolves hadn't cleared it of valuables first. Shinobi were opportunistic bastards by nature, he had claimed, something that had a high likelihood of referring to the fact he had bedded her when she showed interest, and the Wolves were most definitely Shinobi in every sense of the word.

The fact that they were at the very least camped out in this direction was further supported when two Wolves dropped from branches just a bit further into the forest and stopped her from entering it at all.

Placing the bundle of cloth on the ground, she raised her hands before her without prompting, taking a single step back from the bundle on the ground.

"These woods house the Wolves, what business do you have here daughter of the bridge builder?"

"I bring a gift," She kept her voice as even and calm as possible. "For Tsukiyomi-Sama."

The first Wolf didn't turn away from her but the second noticeably looked to the bundle of cloth on the ground.

"And your gift is within there?" Asked the second.

"It is." She answered with a nod.

The two Wolves shared a quick look before the second one approached. With each step they took she took one more back to give them space. When the eventually reached the bundle they didn't hesitate to crouch down to inspect it, completely ignoring her. She couldn't imagine people thinking she was much of a threat, so it was understandable.

They rummaged through the cloth until they could peer at the contents but they never removed them. Staring at it for a moment they looked to her and then back to their partner. Scooping up the bundle they brought it back to the edge of the woods where they showed it to the first Wolf.

The first nodded after a quick look and the second walked back and handed it to her.

"Very well." Spoke the first. "We will take you to present this gift to Tsukiyomi-Sama." They paused for a moment. "Where did you get it?"

"Kakashi-San of Konoha's team seven gave it to me. He said Tsukiyomi-Sama would approve."

"I think Tsukiyomi-Sama will approve. Come, follow us closely. If you stray from our path you will be cut down." As If to emphasize this several other Wolves dropped from the trees showing that the Wolves did indeed make their home in these woods.

"Of course." With a nod more to assure herself than them she stepped up to stand before the first Wolf.

Without another word he turned and she knew she was expected to follow. As soon as she had stepped into the treeline the second Wolf fell into step behind her. Logically he would be keeping an eye on her in case she tried anything but there was still a part of her that claimed he was only behind her so he could stare at her ass. That feeling was only supported when she heard a faintly whispered "Damn" behind her.

Kakashi had said much the same but her vanity certainly appreciated the second opinion.

Now she was just hoping that didn't work against her when it came time to leave.

Aside from the occasion glimpse of various Wolves throughout the forest the trip was uneventful until they reached a large clearing of broken trees and ash. There had obviously been some sort of explosion here and she was smart enough to realize that this must have been the explosion they had all seen from the bridge.

Most of them had assumed that it had been Gato's mansion going up in flames but one had to remember that these were Shinobi. Considering how happy the people of Nami no Kuni were to think the last trace of Gato had been removed from their country she had to admit it was a rather good idea. Not only did they please the people of the country they were trying to take over but they got to keep what must be a rather expensive mansion.

Everyone knew that Gato liked to live lavishly, there was no way his mansion would be anything but the best his money could buy. Just like Kakashi had said, Shinobi were opportunistic by nature and she applauded the manner in which they had taken advantage of this particular situation.

Not far from the man made clearing was one that seemed far more natural. It was here that Gato had built himself a palace and it was this palace that the Wolves had been happy to turn into their new den.

She was escorted through the manner grounds and into the building proper before being told to wait just inside the doors. The first Wolf proceeded to leave the room, no doubt in search of his master to inform him of her presence. The second Wolf, however, seemed content to remain standing behind her. At a respectable distance, of course.

How else was he going to be able to enjoy the view?

Knowing that he was staring, she turned to look over her shoulder.

"Down boy." Her voice was far more confident then she currently felt but his reaction helped in part to fix that.

"Erm, yes, of course ma'am, sorry." The Wolf stammered slightly, caught like a guilty child with his hands in the cookie jar.

"Just don't do it again."

"I'll try not to ma'am, but what you ask is going to be pretty difficult."

She gave him a wink. "Oh, I know."

"Evil woman." Was growled under his breath just loud enough for her to hear it.

She just gave a soft laugh that had him groaning in dismay behind her.

"I swear, you would fit right in with the women whose company Tsukiyomi-Sama keeps. I know you're not a Kunoichi but maybe you'd consider joining the Wolves?"

"Oh? And whatever would a beautiful civilian woman like me be doing in an organization like this? I'm a mother, you know, I have a child to take care of."

"I'm sure I could convince one of the higher-ups to hire you for something administrative, preferably a position that requires you to walk around a lot."

"I'm sure you'd appreciate that."

"Me and many others."

"I'll think about it, but don't be getting your hopes up."

"You just made my day, ma'am."

She let out another soft laugh, far more relaxed than when she had first entered the Wolves' new den.

"I thought I did that earlier; 'Damn', was it?"

"Oh, uh, heard that, did you?"

"Oh, yes I most certainly did."

Any further conversation was stopped when the first Wolf returned.

"Tsukiyomi-Sama is currently in the master bedroom, he has instructed me to lead you there."

Nervousness returning, though thankfully not to the level they had been earlier, she gave a silent nod and followed the Wolf back out of the room and to a set of heavy doors.

"He is within. Make no sudden movements and if he tells you to do something I would advise you to obey." That nervousness was now far worse than it had been in the beginning and she could feel a drop of sweat trail down the back of her neck.

"So you aren't coming in?"

He shook his head. "I have been ordered to return to my duties after escorting you here."

"I- I see. Are there any more Wolves within?" He regarded her with what could only be suspicion from under his mask at her question but answered anyway.

"No. Normally we have guards assigned to him but he dismissed them when I announced your visit. The two of you will be alone in there, which is why I will stress one more time that you must not make any sudden movements."

"Because there aren't guards?"

"Because he can still cut you down from anywhere in that room before you can blink. We will not be present to deter anything you may wish to attempt or restrain you should you try regardless."

She didn't know if she should be flattered that they were treating her as more than just a pretty face or irritated that they acted as though she were some sort of threat when she was a housewife.

"Fine, I can take care of myself."

The Wolf just shrugged. "Either way, one of you will." With that said he left her standing in front of the double doors. Looking down the hallway on both sides showed Wolves standing at attention along the walls a few doors down. They didn't turn their heads but she was certain she was being watched.

Mustering up her courage and taking a deep breath she turned the handle and gently pushed against the door. It swung open easily enough and without a single sound, allowing the light of the hallway to spill into the much darker room.

Gas lamps burned dimly along the walls doing little to banish the darkness that clung within the corners. Dark curtains had been drawn over the large windows that took up most of the wall across from the door and blocked most of the early afternoon sun from entering the room of the man who referred to himself as the god of the moon.

Another lamp sat at an empty desk, burning barely brighter than the others and a twin sat upon a nightstand by the large four-poster bed.

The man she came to meet sat on the edge of that bed, boxes of paper stacked at his feet and another spilled onto the bed. He didn't look up at her arrival, eyes gliding over the papers he currently held in one hand, but his voice broke soft the silence of his sanctuary.

"Come in then, no reason to stand in the hallway." As soon as she had complied he continued. "And the door, please. My first office didn't have windows and I've found it rather distracting to work in a brighter environment."

"Ah, sorry."

One hand moved in dismissal of her apology.

"It's fine, I'm the one who sent for you to be brought here." Tossing the papers onto the pile on his bed he looked up at her, his purple eyes glowing in the dim light and his skin almost luminescent. "Now, what can I do for you today, Tsunami-San?"

One hand immediately shot to her mouth to stifle a gasp. At first it was because of the unique appearance he had in the darkened room and then due to how young he looked. Despite that quick movement, however, the young man made no move to cut her down.

"I brought something you may like."

"A gift?"

"A gift." She confirmed. Moving slowly to the edge of the bed she reached out to give him the bundle only for him to pull her down onto the bed in a sitting position near him. Once she was properly seated he removed the bundle of cloth from her hands and unwrapped the object within.

Staring down at it, a fond smile touched his lips as the face of a crow stared back.

"Where did you get this?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Kakashi-San handed it to me just before he and his team left for Konoha. He said that if you were who he thought you were you would appreciate it."

He gave a light chuckle. "Ah, good ol' Inu. He's right, I do appreciate it. I'm sure Mikoto-Chan will as well."

She didn't know who this Mikoto was but Inu was obviously some reference to Kakashi. It was curious that they would know each other and she was almost tempted to ask. Before she could however, Tsukiyomi asked his own question.

"So, I take it you must be close to Kakashi, then?"

"We, ah, well." A hand was held up to silence her.

"I understand." His purple eyes trailed up and down her body, tracing every inch of her form. "I can certainly see what drew him to you, Tsunami-San, you're a beautiful woman."

Despite herself, a faint dusting of pink graced her cheeks.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you. I'm rather happy to have this and any friend of Kakashi is a friend of my Wolves. Call on us and we will aid you. Was there anything else I could help you with, Tsunami-San?"

The woman thought for a moment.

"Well, one of the Wolves I met today did mention something about the possibilities of an administrative job and I do find myself with more and more time on my hands as Inari gets older. Another source of income certainly wouldn't hurt."

He gave her a grin that matched very well the namesake of his forces.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Hanabi-Sama." At the voice of the main family's lapdog the Hyuuga heiress paused in her walking and peered over her shoulder at the one who addressed her.

"Neji, I take it this means you've discovered something?" The boy bowed slightly.

"Yes, Hanabi-Sama."

"It certainly took you long enough. Come, we will discuss this in my chambers."

"Of course, Hanabi-Sama."

She had already been heading for her room and so it took very little time for the two of them to araive. Taking a second to check the surroundings with her Byakugan she was confident there was no one to observe the two of them entering her chambers. If the branch members were to become suspicious that the two of them were on to whatever was happening behind the scenes of the Hyuuga clan it would be bad but any rumors involving the two of them together would be worse.

Her room was one of the few that the Byakugan couldn't penetrate and so they'd be safe from prying eyes as soon as they were within.

Letting her cousin enter first, she kept lookout. As soon as she knew that anyone entering Byakugan range would only see her entering her room and not question it she followed after him.

"So," She crossed her arms over her chest and did her best to look down on him, something rather difficult considering the difference between both their ages and height. Were it not for the seal on his brow he would be able to utterly decimate her in a fight. That fact was a source of endless frustration but that same fact brought great satisfaction because she could still control him. "What have you learned?"

"Yesterday I observed a group of branch members exiting a sightless room." The name was a given considering the Byakugan couldn't pierce it, though taking into account the beliefs of the clan it was also a wonder they weren't referred to as fateless rooms. The fact that the members of the main family used them as personal quarters was a rather sound explanation for that. "I expected a main family member to exit after them, as it is not uncommon for an elder or main member to bring branch members into them for various reasons."

Naturally, those reasons were varied and all were left unsaid. The people of Konoha couldn't be allowed to learn that which went on within the clan.

"To my surprise there was no main member but Hinata-San left the room after the others followed closely by a guard in a wolf mask who quickly vanished."

That caught her attention.

"A wolf mask?!" That was infinitely more important than whatever he had to say at the moment. Her father told her about the enemy of the Yamanaka, a boy by the name of Naruto and a former member of the Uzumaki clan. He used the boy as an example for one who was not all that powerful but who had allies that were and the fact that the Yamanaka were soon brought to their knees supported the fact that Naruto most definitely had powerful allies.

And with the Yamanaka claiming that it was a group of unknowns wearing wolf masks that were breaking down their clan and not the clanless boy it was obvious that these Wolves were aligned with the academy student that had been in her sister's class.

Now those same Wolves were guarding her sister as she met with various branch members in sightless rooms. Already things were looking very, very bad.

While the Hyuuga were far above the Yamanaka, the Wolves tore down the clan of Mindwalkers from the outside almost effortlessly. If they had a way into the Hyuuga clan then their might wouldn't matter.

They had more than an in, it would seem, they also had support. She wasn't all that surprised by that last fact. Of course they had support, most of the branch family would love to see the main family brought down and with Hinata knowing more about the main family than the branch members supporting her they were beyond vulnerable to the maw of these wolves.

They were going to be devoured.

Already she could feel beads of sweat trailing down the back of her neck.

It could be a coincidence but fate never dealt with coincidences unless there was a purpose behind them. Changes were coming to the clan, it was undeniable. Wolves seeking to take over the clan or not, the branch members were going to be making moves soon and the fact that they felt they could do so despite the seals on their brow did not speak well for the main family.

Regardless of what was happening, fate's message was clear-

She needed to get out.

"Yes, Hanabi-Sama, a wolf mask." Her cousin continued, ignorant of the thoughts that had raced through her head or the unease that had taken root in her heart.

"I see, continue."

"Remembering the location, I awoke earlier this morning and sat down in a nearby garden to wait with my Byakugan. Just as the previous day, Hinata-San entered the room and many branch members soon followed." He paused, slightly uncomfortable. "I must point out that the branch members that followed her are well respected members of the branch family and have a lot of pull over the rest of the branch family. Whatever they are up to isn't isolated or, at the very least, won't be isolated for long.

"When they started exiting again several hours later I moved closer in hopes of overhearing something about the meeting. Unfortunately, I only caught one thing before another member silenced the one who was talking."

"And what did you hear?"

"They-" He paused and took a deep breath, the very thought infuriated him. "They were speaking of Hinata-San, she was referred to as 'Hinata no Mikoto."

" _What?!"_ It came out far more like a hiss than was proper for a Hyuuga of her standing but she hardly noticed. "A goddess? They think her a _goddess_?"

Things just kept getting worse. If they truly believed that she was a goddess then there was no way they would ever submit again to the main family. A bloodbath was inevitable and she was not foolish enough to believe that only the branch members would fall.

Hinata was believed divine and was somehow involved with the very Wolves who brought down the Yamanaka clan. No matter what happened the Hyuuga clan as they knew it was about to fall, the only question was who would bear the burden of rebuilding it.

The victors, certainly, but with outside help and far greater numbers on their side it looked like those victors could very well be the branch family led by her sister.

She could go to her father and the elders about this, in fact, she should, but that might tip off the branch members and bring things to a head far before they were ready. It might be a well needed advantage for the main family but even if they won there would be few if any branch members within the clan afterwards. The Hyuuga could not survive without the branch family, her father had taught her that.

They were absolutely crucial and that meant it was actually in the best interest of the Hyuuga clan that the branch family succeed. If that truly was what the fates had planned then she, as the heiress of the main family, stood in its way. That was not a wise place to be.

But she had been warned, given time to prepare, so fate must have other uses for her.

It was up to her to insure she was available to play whatever roles were left for her.

She needed to leave.

"Very good, Neji, continue to watch them but under no circumstances are you to be caught or report any of this to the elders or my father. I will see that things are taken care of, there is no reason to bother them with this."

"By your command, Hanabi-Sama." He gave a slight bow which she waved off.

"You are dismissed."

She should have exited the room to check for anyone who may have seen his exit but she couldn't bring herself to. As soon as he was gone she fell back against the wall and slid to the floor, cradling her head in her hands.

How the fuck was she going to avoid this mess?

An unknown presence behind her had her turning immediately and it was only at the last second that she managed to keep from throwing the kunai in her hand.

"Oh? What have we here?"

Security had been one of her primary concerns when she built her outposts and she knew for a fact that is was far too tight for any animal to ever hope to get past. Add that to the sudden appearance of it- for she would have detected it earlier had it been present- made her question why she was gazing upon the golden scales of a serpent.

Of course, there was one answer that came immediately to mind, one that brought a smile to her painted lips.

"A child of Aū then? What brings you here?"

A roll of parchment fell from its mouth as it looked up into her eyes.

"The high priest has asked that I deliver this to the holder of the snake contract. You are she, no?"

"That would be me. Whatever might my beloved godson have sent me?"

"It is not for me to say. I shall take my leave now." With a flash of crimson the snake was gone leaving only the parchment behind.

Curious as to what her godson would be sending her she picked it up and tucked it into her shirt. She was itching to read it but she had patience enough to retreat to her sanctuary so she could take the time to enjoy the first thing she had ever received from the boy.

Even if he didn't know that he was her godson and was simply looking to contact the holder of the snake contract- which wouldn't be surprising considering the gift she had sent him- it was still precious to her.

Swiftly she made her way back to her chambers, long legs devouring the distance between her and her godson's written word. With every step she became more eager, her heartrate increasing and her breath drawing shallow. And still, past the excitement, was a sense of nervousness that was unbefitting of one such as she.

Maybe he really had figured out the identity of his godparent but didn't want anything to do with her? Could the knowledge that she was a traitor to his home make him hate her? Did he somehow believe she was trying to tempt him away from his home with her gifts and was demanding that she stop contacting her? Was he displeased by the fact that she had assigned her spies with the task of observing him?

Was he disappointed that she had never visited him, or that she hadn't taken him form Konoha when his mother had abandoned him?

She found herself biting her lip in nervous anticipation.

He could very well be writing to meet with her, or to thank her for the gifts. Maybe he was even requesting that she take him in as his new mother. Those outcomes would be wonderful, certainly, but they were all just as likely as the others and she had no idea what to expect.

"Orochi-" One of her subordinates attempted to gain her attention only to receive a kunai to the shoulder for his efforts.

"Not now!" She hissed, never breaking stride. She didn't care if the five greater countries had banded together and had their armies banging at the entrance to her hideout, this came first.

Reaching her chambers she quickly entered, locking them securely behind her. She did not want to be interrupted. There was little light within, but that was fine. Her eyes had adjusted well enough after years in the darkness. The few flickering torches in her chambers provided ample light.

Moving to the bed, she tossed aside her pillows and crawled to rest against the headboard. Bringing her knees up to her chest she wrapped her blankets around her in a tight nest and drew the parchment from her shirt.

It was short, very short, but she opened it, read it, and smiled.

' _Wave belongs to the Wolves. Your serpents are welcome here, godfather.'_

While irritated for reasons she couldn't explain that he had called her 'godfather' – which, technically, she still was- it was obvious that Naruto was not bothered by that fact. Actually, judging by his invitation to his new country – by the gods was she proud of that boy for managing that at such a young age- he was rather welcoming of their nonblood relation.

The message, though short, had told her much more than what the words themselves had said.

He was obviously doing well, having just taken over a country and being able to offer her a place in it and he didn't seem to have anything against her. The fact that he had also mentioned her own forces meant there was more than a little hope in her heart that she could work with him one day. More than that, though, it gave her hope that he would completely accept her into his life, just like she wanted.

Of course, just because the message had said more than what had been written didn't mean she wouldn't have wanted to hear more from him. It didn't matter what, she'd be happy to hear about anything from what he had to breakfast to his latest erotic dream. Actually, she'd really like to hear about such a dream or any fantasies he may have had.

She could always use something else to do that had some sort of connection to him, something to feel closer to him by. The thoughts would be a welcome read- especially on nights she was really longing for his presence- but they would also let her try her hand at arranging situations that would fit those fantasies. Maybe if she was really lucky her next body could be chosen to align with them.

Then again, was her current form even acceptable? She didn't really know anything about his tastes, nothing solid at least, and even if her current body matched them perfectly would he be able to accept his godfather like this?

Maybe she should have gone with a body that seemed more masculine and slowly got him use to the idea of his godfather being a woman. As it was, she may very well see him should she visit Wave and then he would have to deal with an obviously female godfather.

Her hand absently cupped one of her breasts as a frown marred her face. There was no way to tell if he'd be able to accept her as she was even if he accepted the idea of Orochimaru of the Sannin being his godfather. Knowing the identity of someone was one thing, learning about such a drastic change was quite another, especially when she sought to be far closer to him than would normally be proper for a godparent.

Well, for any familiar relation, really.

In the end she'd just have to accept that he was a bit more open-minded than most, or wouldn't be hindered by some sense of morals that might keep him from allowing her to be as close to him as she'd like.

Both would be preferable, actually, and she could already imagine all sorts of delicious moral trouble the two of them could get into together.

' _Aunt would work, so would sister, but if I could get him to call me mother…'_ Orochimaru shivered despite the many blankets wrapped around her. _'Oh the fun we'll be able to have, my little prince.'_

She wondered briefly if sending him some intimate pictures of her new form might help him be more accepting of her when they next met, or at least give her an advantage to use in order to convince him that the change could most definitely be a good thing for both of them. Then again, he wouldn't recognize the person in the pictures unless she told him and even then he might not believe her before they met in person.

But maybe she could somehow convince him to send a few to her.

She licked her lips as she put down his message and her free hand disappeared into the blankets.

Oh yes, she'd appreciate those. She could already imagine them.

* * *

These meetings were much better when she was wearing pants she noted idly, crossing one leg over the other without fear of giving her uninvited- but not necessarily unwelcome- guests a show. Interestingly enough, the young woman who represented the one known as Tsukiyomi seemed more disappointed with her increased clothing than the two men standing protectively behind her.

Of course, that's not to say she couldn't feel the eyes that drank in her form from behind those masks of theirs, not that she could blame them. She was an attractive woman and the pants hugged her lower body quite snugly. She'd have to make sure the laundry got done often enough that she had more choices in the mornings but after Kiba had graduated she had become used to being able to take advantage of the empty house and usually didn't get dressed until the early afternoon.

After all, what did it matter what she wore- or didn't wear- while she did paperwork in the privacy of her home office?

Naturally, the Wolves made a fine mess of those plans. Not that they necessarily _forced_ her to wear pants, but she certainly felt better meeting them dressed in a little more than her undergarments and a bathrobe.

And for that reason she'd been putting on pants every morning even before her first cup of coffee- something she honestly hadn't done since before Kiba entered the academy- just in case she had any surprise guests.

Why they couldn't visit later in the morning or, better yet, sometime in the afternoon she'd never understand. She tried not to think about how long they actually waited in her home while she slept on completely oblivious.

Considering that Hana worked early mornings at the clan vet and Kiba met his team around six they were probably here a good two hours before she got up, and for a Kunoichi like her, retired or not, that was a rather uncomfortable thought.

Placing her empty mug on the coffee table, she rolled her eyes as three masks followed her movements and pulled the bathrobe tighter around her chest to the noticeable disappointment of the young woman before her.

Just because she started wearing pants didn't mean she was going to start getting dressed before noon. It was her house, damn it, and if someone didn't like that it was their own damn problem. Not that these Wolves seemed to mind, they would probably be perfectly happy should she start coming down completely naked.

Honestly, there weren't many who wouldn't be.

Then again, with how interested the woman was with her body it wouldn't surprise her too much to one day wake with the three of them in her bedroom. Were that to ever happen she half expected that she wouldn't be finding herself alone in her bed.

Or clothed for that matter.

But the female Wolf's apparent sexual preferences aside, there was business to discuss. Or, she assumed there was. They had yet to make a social call to her house and unless the young woman was planning on asking her out on a date- which was doubtful considering the two standing behind her unless they were some sort of package deal- then this had something to do with the packs.

"So, was there a reason you came for a visit or did you just need to see me again?"

"Oh, Tsume, you should know that seeing you is reason enough for a visit. Unfortunately, right now it's just a pleasant bonus."

A faint dusting of pink found itself on Tsume's cheeks. Holed up as she normally was doing paperwork it wasn't often that anyone complimented her. Her vanity certainly appreciated the confirmation that people still found her attractive.

Even if those people happened to be part of some hidden group that was taking over countries and managing a cult of Hyuuga.

"Then what did you need to speak to me about?"

"I'll cut straight to the heart of the matter. We need someone to manage our new country."

Had she any coffee left she was sure she'd have spit it out.

"Already?!" They had just recently spoken about the plan being accelerated but to hear that it was over and the country was under their control already was almost unbelievable. Then again, they took down a clan from within one of the five greater villages- arguably the greatest of the five greater villages- so how difficult would it really be for them to take control of a country that only had civilians?

"Yes, we have in part team seven to thank. Their mission provided the opportunity to wrest control from the hands of Gato. Wave belongs to the Wolves."

"Wave? Damn." There were many small countries that were valuable because they produced the resources needed by the larger countries or were filled with skilled artisans. Hell, the land of hot water made a killing off of their resorts and natural hotsprings. The amount of tourists who used up years of saving and the money spent by wealthy lords on vacations was staggering.

But Wave? Wave was right up there with the land of hot water and yet it was almost completely undeveloped and home to only a few hundred people max. The location was perfect for trading and even under Gato's tight control had acted as one of the largest trading hubs of the world. With the Wolves taking care of it there was no doubt that it would blow up to tremendous proportions and find itself in a class all its own.

"Indeed. As I said, we need someone to manage it. Commander Sai has control over the Wolves in the area but is not suited to running a small country. I have too much on my plate at the moment and Tsukiyomi-Sama needs to be free to take advantage of any other opportunities that present themselves."

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the hierarchy at the moment?"

"Ah, I probably should have explained that in an earlier meeting. The Wolves answer to Captains, who answer to a High-Captain. The High-Captains are under the direct control of Commander Sai who answers to me. I direct Commander Sai and the leader of our little cult and am tasked with keeping Tsukiyomi-Sama informed of all happenings within both groups."

"That's certainly an interesting setup. Where does my clan fall in all that?"

"You should be flattered, Tsukiyomi-Sama considers dealing with your clan to be his personal duty. Naturally, he isn't available to meet with you in person, but rather than let me have control as I do with the other two groups, when dealing with you and your clan I simply relay Tsukiyomi-Sama's wishes." She paused and Tsume could almost feel the frown that tugged on lips hidden by that mask. "In fact, it's actually a bit more complicated than that now, considering his latest request."

"He wanted someone to oversee that new country of his, yes? I don't understand how that could relate to our clan and its relationship with Tsukiyomi-er, -Sama, -San…"

"I have been told -Dono is acceptable. You are working together, after all."

"Thank you. Like I was saying, I don't understand how this effects our relationship with Tsukiyomi-Dono."

"Isn't it obvious? He wants a member of your clan to manage his country for him."

"That was indeed the obvious answer, but it doesn't make much sense. You've said it yourself, we Inuzuka are a rather brash bunch."

"But did you not say those of the head family are more learned then their cousins?"

Tsume thought for a moment before she realized what the woman across from her was hinting at.

"Hana?"

The Wolf nodded.

"Correct. Tsukiyomi-Sama believes that with her training as clan heiress and with the support of the Wolves she'd do a fine job and it would serve as valuable experience for when she eventually takes over the clan."

"And why not a Hyuuga? Surely they'd do a better job."

"Your clan is known for its loyalty and by giving your heiress this position he hopes to strengthen the tie between our packs. Not only that, but you wouldn't have to rely solely upon the wolves for support as your daughter would have control over the day to day affairs of Nami no Kuni."

"It's a sound idea, but I would prefer to hear her opinion on the mater first."

"That's fine, shall I send a Wolf to retrieve her?"

"Please do."

She didn't even have to send a Wolf, for as soon as the two women finished talking one took it upon himself to find the Inuzuka heiress. Silence settled over the room, not comfortable but still not fully uncomfortable. The two remaining Wolves naturally took this time to appreciate the appearance of their hostess and, knowing what they were doing, Tsume spent the time fighting down a slight blush.

"Gods above, you Wolves are a perverted bunch." She muttered under her breath.

Hearing her, the female Wolf tilted her head to the side in contemplation before giving a solid nod.

"I suppose we are." She admitted. "But it's more fun this way."

"I bet."

She knew for a fact the girl was smiling under that mask of hers.

The silence returned once more, this time slightly more comfortable, and it wasn't long until she heard the door open. Idly she wondered why she hadn't heard anything when the Wolf left, surely there hadn't been any reason to sneak out of the house.

Perhaps he found an open window?

Whatever the Wolf's exit had been, he entered again behind her daughter as the two made their way into the living room.

"Kaa-San?"

"It's fine, Hana, take a seat. Tsukiyomi-Dono has sent-." She paused, frowning, before turning to her guest. "You know, I don't think you've ever given me something to call you."

"Oh? My apologies then, you may call me Mai."

Tsume tested it on her tongue a few times before nodding.

"Yes, well, Mai here came here to ask for some help from our clan." She had already told her daughter and the older members of the clan about their new alliance with the Wolves but she had kept the details to herself, telling them only that the two groups would be working together for the good of them both.

"And how does that concern me? You're not looking to marry me off, are you?"

"No, not at all!"

Mai, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful after hearing it.

"Well, I'm sure Tsukiyomi-Sama wouldn't mind too much. He might be a bit irritated with me if I were to arrange it without his knowledge but I'm sure he'd forgive me soon enough." Mai paused to noticeably run her gaze over the Inuzuka heiress. "Especially considering how attractive you are. I'm certain he'd go from irritated when I informed him to quite pleased after meeting you."

Hana seemed rather distressed by the idea but a quick glance to her mother put any fears she might have had at ease.

"Mai…" Was practically growled by the Inuzuka matriarch in warning only for the young woman to answer with a light giggle.

"Oh, calm down, I was just kidding. There are already plenty of options for him when he eventually decides to give the matter any thought and no doubt many more will present themselves between now and that time. Even if there weren't, he's too busy for anything of that nature at the moment. Besides, if I arrange something between Hana here and Tsukiyomi-Sama I lose my shot at her. She's just as attractive as you, Tsume."

Mother and daughter wore matching blushes at that. Tsume had to wonder if meetings with Tsukiyomi would be preferable or if he'd be even worse than the young woman he sent to speak with them.

"So, If this is not about me being married, why do I need to be here?"

"Tell me, Hana, have you ever considered running a country?"

"What?" What kind of question was that? She couldn't honestly be saying that running a small country was why she was needed, could she?

"The Wolves have recently…acquired…a country, Tsukiyomi-Sama himself desires it to be you who runs Nami no Kuni on his behalf."

"You guys want me to manage Nami no Kuni? Seriously?" She turned to her mother only to receive a confirming nod.

"That is correct. Tsukiyomi-Sama believes that you would do well in such a position and that it would serve as invaluable experience for when you take control of the Inuzuka clan from your mother."

"So you expect me to just drop everything and move out of the country?"

"Yes." There had been no hesitation, just the blunt truth, and while slightly annoyed by it, Hana was also grateful for the honesty.

Turning to her mother, she asked. "What do you think of this?"

"I think it would be good for you." Answered Tsume. "This is an amazing opportunity that could help you and the clan, you should take it. If things don't work out we can always figure out something else."

"There's a bridge builder there who lead the construction of a bridge to connect Nami no Kuni to the eastern mainland, we could always hire him and have High-Captain Keigo positioned permanently to help him manage Wave. You, however, would be the better choice." Stated Mai.

"How soon would I have to leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. Tsukiyomi-Sama is a busy man and has business to take care of outside of Nami no Kuni. You can't expect him to wait forever."

"I see, do I have to go alone?"

"Of course not, you are welcome to bring with you a guard of your packmates. You will all be taken care of. We have yet to prepare a house for your stay but the mansion we are currently inhabiting has plenty of room."

"I- If I can find enough people to accompany me I'll do it, but if there aren't enough people available to leave the country tomorrow you'll have to find someone else."

"Fair enough. Would you like an escort for the remainder of the day?"

"No, thank you, it's best that I speak with them all alone. I'll let my mother know by this evening and she can pass it on to you."

"Certainly, I wish you the best of luck gathering your comrades, have a pleasant day."

Recognizing the dismissal, Hana took her leave. Silence once again settled between the two remaining women for several moments, neither really having anything else to say.

Finally, Mai's soft voice interrupted it.

"Well, I do believe that concludes this morning's business. As always, it was lovely to see you again Tsume."

"Erm, likewise, Mai."

The Wolf-masked woman paused as she considered the Inuzuka matriarch before her.

"Say, Tsume-Chan..."

The Inuzuka woman raised a brow. 'Chan'? That was new.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to meet up later for lunch?"

She blinked a few times in disbelief. Was this really happening?

"Like a date?"

"Yes."

A drawn-out sigh escaped her lips as she gave it some thought before shrugging.

"You know what? Sure. Why the fuck not?"

It had been a while since she last went out and the girl sounded cute. What did she have to lose?

"Great, I'll pick you up around noon, make sure you wear something nice." She paused once more to contemplate her latest sentence. "Or just very little, I'd be happy either way."

With a giggle she waved before seeing herself out, leaving Tsume to wonder once more-

What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

"Alright team, no reason for you to be present while I report. Go home, I'm sure you'd all love a hot shower and a visit to your own beds."

No one thought to question whether or not Kakashi's report would be anything close to accurate. The man had spent half the trip talking about how amazing Tsunami's body was and the other half bemoaning the fact he didn't have Naruto on his team. Surely, he had claimed, they'd be done with the mission long ago had Naruto been part of his team.

None of the three Genin would be all that surprised if his report to the Hokage was much the same. The man had an annoying habit of focusing only on what he thought mattered and leaving everything else out.

Admittedly, for Naruko, this was probably a good thing. She doubted the old Kage would be pleased to hear she hindered Kakashi's ability to execute an enemy.

Maybe it was better that Kakashi go and report things in his own way. Besides, that hot shower sounded really good right now. Tazuna's house had plumbing but it was too expensive for them to heat the water. Two weeks of cold showers and three days of travel to return to Konoha and she really couldn't think of anything she'd rather be doing.

Whether they shared her thoughts on the matter or were just eager to get away from their sensei, Sasuke left, still deep in thought, and Sakura followed him without a word. If Sasuke did share her thoughts of a hot shower then she already knew exactly what the pinkette was thinking.

With those two gone, there was really no reason to stand around longer, especially in Kakashi's company, and so with a halfhearted wave to her separating team she started for home.

It didn't take long to reach the compound she called home, opening the large gate and wading through tall grass that still had yet to be cut. She'd been gone for weeks and had really expected this to have been taken care of by now. Even if her mother didn't have the time, the Uzumaki had plenty of money to hire a Genin team for a D-rank mission.

Letting her eyes roam over the sea of green she amended her statement; the Uzumaki had plenty of money to hire a couple Genin teams for D-rank missions. Actually, they could probably bump it up to a single C-rank if they offered enough money and one could request certain Shinobi for jobs. She'd have to speak with her mother about hiring her brother for a well-paying C-rank mission of clearing the grounds of the Uzumaki compound.

They could thank him later with a cold drink inside and for the first time in over our years they could spend some time as a family. If they were really fortunate and the gods were smiling down upon them they might even manage to convince him to stay in the compound or start visiting once a week for dinner.

Her mother might be obsessed with getting him back completely but at this point Naruko would be happy just to see him regularly.

She still needed to apologize for that spar, too. This would provide a perfect opportunity.

The house was silent when she entered, no signs of her mother and not so much as a dish in the sink. She was probably off somewhere doing something that she felt would bring Naruto back into the family. Naruko was almost scared to think of what her mother might have done while she was on her first C-rank mission.

Something to divide the family further, she'd have to guess.

Her heart was in the right place but her attempts to win Naruto's favor seemed to backfire spectacularly. She really needed to pause and take a second to think these plans out more thoroughly. She was just as eager to get him back as her mother was but going about things in such a hasty manner was not going to do any of them, and most importantly Naruto, any good.

Her mother didn't seem to understand that yet but the sooner she did the sooner they could really start making progress towards being a family once more.

With a sigh she entered her room and tossed her gear onto her bed. She'd sort through and restock later but right now that shower- or maybe a nice, long bath- was calling her.

An hour later she sat on her bed wrapped only in a towel as she considered what she'd do with the rest of her day. She could retire to bed early, of course, and that was a tempting thought, but there was still plenty of time left in the day and she was loathe to waste it.

She really didn't have anything she needed to do and other than perhaps getting something to eat- as she really didn't feel up to cooking- there wasn't anything she could think to do.

If her mother was home she'd have talked with her about the trip and asked about some sealing lessons but she had no idea where the woman was or when she'd be home.

She didn't exactly have any friends to visit, either. In fact, the closest thing to a friend she had would have to be Ino, the Yamanaka heiress.

Naturally, thoughts of the Yamanaka reminded her of the Wolves she had seen in Nami no Kuni.

Ino had certainly spoken a lot about the Wolves who had brought the Yamanaka clan to their knees and she had to wonder if the Shinobi she saw in Wave were somehow related to those here in Konoha. Was the group spreading? Had they gotten a start in Konoha and then moved on? Maybe it was a global operation that sought some unknown goal.

But, whatever the truth was, Ino claimed that her brother was somehow involved. Having seen the Wolves and their operation in Nami no Kuni, she could only pray the girl was wrong. What on earth would her brother be doing with a group like that?

Tsunami pointed out that things could have been worse for them under Gato's rule had the Wolves not stepped in but she had trouble believing that a group who ripped money from the destitute, slaughtered their client and all his forces in cold blood, and who bought young women in the middle of the street as if it were nothing could have anything but their own best interest at heart.

How could a group like that be trusted with a country and the lives of all those who called it home?

She had to hope her brother hadn't found himself involved in something like this and was in over his head.

Of course, if anyone had more information about the Wolves or would be able to give her a better opinion on what she knew it would be Ino. She had also heard that her father, Inoichi, had made some sort of deal with her brother involving the Wolves. It might be a good idea to speak with him too.

Her mind made up, Naruko dug through her closet for something simple to wear over to the Yamanaka compound. Maybe afterwards she and Ino could go get something to eat. Better yet, she could invite Ino to join her for a meal and they could discuss it all over a late lunch.

Yes, that would definitely work. Dressed well enough to be seen in public, she scribbled a hasty note to her mother about her planned whereabouts and left it on the table just in case her mother should return before she did.

Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset with her visiting the Yamanaka, she had really not liked them recently and blamed most of her problems with her son on them. That would be something to work on when Naruto was part of the family again, especially since he could confirm that it wasn't Ino or her clan's fault.

Though the Yamanaka compound was actually located within the village proper- much like the Akamichi compound- and not with most of the other clans in the clan districts, it did not take long for her to arrive.

Curiously, however, it also didn't take long for her to gain entrance. Before she could even utter a word the gates of the Yamanaka clan were opened, both guards moving to stand at attention.

How odd.

Maybe Ino had spoken to them about granting her access or something, that was really the only reason she could think of that might explain the behavior. Unless the heiress had recently sent for her and it was simply good fortune that she happened to be visiting anyway.

Considering her current family issues that luck seemed unlikely.

Shrugging off the odd occurrence- and the way everyone she passed seemed to give slight bows at her passing- she went straight to Ino's office, knowing how much time the Yamanaka princess spent pouring over clan paperwork. A visit from a friend would be a welcome break for the girl, she was sure.

Knocking on the door, she was immediately called in. Perhaps the theory that she had been expected wasn't so far off the mark.

"Uzumaki-Sama, I wasn't expecting you to arrive this early." The blonde heiress was sitting at her desk and buried in paperwork as usual. Eyes focused on whatever she was currently working on, she didn't even glance up at her visitor until she heard a rather confused "Uzumaki-Sama?".

"Hm? Oh! Naruko-Sama, my apologies, your mother was going to be stopping in today to look over some clan paperwork."

"Really?" Asked Naruko, a puzzled from on her face. "Did you ask her to help you or something?"

Ino stared at her for a moment, as if she were puzzled by the question, before her eyes widened in understanding.

"You were on a mission, weren't you? I remember Asuma-Sensei mentioning it; no wonder you don't know."

"Know what?"

"While you were away your mother called for a meeting of the greater clans and demanded recompense from the Yamanaka because our feud with your brother drove him to renounce his clan name."

"What? Why would she do something like that?"

Ino shrugged tiredly.

"Something to do with getting your brother to rejoin the clan, I would suspect. Not that it worked. He seemed rather displeased that we had been taken out from under his control just as he was starting to build us up again."

An uncomfortable silence stretched on for a few moments before Naruko managed to scrape enough courage up to ask the question she almost didn't want the answer to.

"So, what exactly did she want from your clan?"

"The clan."

Ino's blunt answer had her pausing, unable to process the information.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. The clan?"

"You heard correctly. Ever since the calling of the greater clans the Yamanaka clan has become the vassal of Clan Uzumaki." A curious look overtook the Yamanaka princess's face as she wondered aloud "Not sure if were part of the greater clans anymore after that. The Uzumaki are greater though, so it's possible. I'll have to ask Kushina-Sama later to know if I'm expected to attend the meetings. Probably am, but maybe not in the capacity of a clan head…"

She trailed off as she remembered she currently had a guest in her office.

"Ah, sorry. Just wondering about some future clan business. Now, was there something I could help you with Naruko-Sama?"

"Please don't call me that, -Chan is fine."

"Alright, Naruko-Chan." She quietly tried the name a few more times, getting used to the way it felt on her tongue and trying to ignore the clan training that demanded she address the heiress of the lording clan with proper respect. "So, what was it you needed form me?"

"Well, it was about the Wolves."

That immediately had Ino's attention. Even with Kushina claiming that the Yamanaka would be kept protected as the vassal of the Uzumaki and Naruto assuring her that her clan was no longer the enemy of the Wolves one would do well to keep track of such a dangerous group.

"What about them? Do they have a new target? Have they moved against the Uzumaki?"

"They had a new target, Nami no Kuni."

"The land of Waves? What could they want there?"

"No, that's what they wanted. They've taken over."

Ino leaned back into her chair as she attempted to process what she had just been told.

"They've taken over a county?" Her voice was weak, hesitant, even to her, but there was still that tinge of awed disbelief carried by it. It was recently that her clan was the target but now, having just moved on to other things, they already had control of a county. A valuable one, too, if she remembered her lessons properly.

"Yeah, they were working for Gato, a shipping tycoon that took over years ago. When he attempted to stamp out the resistance of the villagers the Wolves cut his men down before beheading him."

"That sounds like the Wolves alright, but are you sure they're the same group?"

Naruko could only shrug.

"No idea, I've never met the Wolves here in Konoha. In Wave they all wore snarling wolf masks and dressed primarily in grey. There was one with a hood and a mantle of white fur while we were there and people referred to him as the High-Captain. He's the one who beheaded Gato and declared Wave to be under the protection of the Wolves by the order of the moon god."

"The moon god?" Ino looked at her skeptically.

"Well, I suppose it could have been someone going by Tsukiyomi, I guess. Probably the name of their leader."

"Never heard of a Tsukiyomi associated with them. I guess they didn't have much need to mention him here in Konoha. Never heard of any High-Captain either, now that I think about it. That's rather odd."

"And why's that?"

"Well, assuming it's the same group, Konoha's Wolves seem to be just a small portion. Over in Wave they were led by a High-Captain, so why isn't there a High-Captain here to oversee whatever it is they're doing in Konoha?"

"I don't know, maybe because it would draw more attention? I've never seen any Wolves here and only your clan speaks of them but over in Wave they were out in the open and acted-" She paused to consider the validity of her next statement. "They acted just like the ANBU here on patrol, actually. There were some who were doing things for Gato but the rest of them sat atop buildings overlooking the village and walking through the streets to keep an eye on the populace."

"That could be it, but I still find it odd that a commanding officer would be missing from anything they're doing here. I could understand they're more valuable, but surely the risk of losing them would be worth having a more stable setup within Konohagakure no Sato. Unless…" Ino looked at Naruko, slightly uneasy with her latest thought and wondering if it was a good idea to mention it to the heiress of the lording clan.

"Unless what?"

Giving a deep sigh, Ino continued with her newest theory.

"Unless Naruto is their commanding officer."

"No! I won't hear it!"

"Please, just hear me out-"

"Do you have any idea what kind of people these Wolves are?"

Ino gave her a blank look. Her clan had been brought to its knees by this group that no one believed existed. People were framed for kidnapping and rape, the treasury was robbed, threats and warnings were delivered to her room as she slept, and the reputation their clan had built up for generations was lost. She knew what kind of people the Wolves were.

They weren't people.

They were Wolves.

They stalked their prey, taking it down in a show of vicious force and devouring it without remorse.

They were Shinobi, the truest, most pure example of Shinobi she had ever born witness to. The Wolves followed the old ways, back before there was peace and international law, before the villages or even clans. They behaved like the first, villagers that turned to banditry and stealth, mercenaries and thieves that looked out for themselves first, their families second, and everyone else as a target.

They didn't need fancy Jutsu or catchy names like those of these days did. No, all they needed was the cold steel of a blade and a target to go after.

She probably understood what these Wolves were better than Naruko could ever hope to, but, at the same time, if she was asking that question it was pretty obvious that she had seen a glimpse of the Wolves' true nature over in Wave where they didn't have to hide from a village of Shinobi who were unlikely to be accepting of their presence and even less so of their actions.

"No, I have absolutely no idea of what kind of people these Wolves could possibly be." Answered Ino dryly. "It's not like they were the enemy of my clan or anything."

Naruko had to stop at that, an embarrassed red across her cheeks.

"Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to, of course you do, but I love my brother and to have him compared to those- to those _things_ is absolutely infuriating. I watched as they went about collecting money from those who didn't even have their own homes, saw the way people shied away from their approach. I was there when they slaughtered Gato and his men just because he was in their way. No survivors, no mercy. They were laughing. _Laughing._ They enjoyed it. And while I agree with the rest of the world that Gato was a horrible person and am glad he's gone no one should take so much pleasure in ending lives like that. They're no better than the thugs and bandits he had hired. Only they had power and were willing to use it.

They're worse."

Naruko paused, collecting herself.

"T-they bought people like cattle. A young woman, only a few years older than we are, was sold by her father to them in the middle of the street under the light of the sun just so he could pay Gato's tax.

All the Wolves are horrible people, if they can even be called such. They're just a group of bandits more organized and trained than all the others."

"You're right, they are." This was the first she had heard of Wolves acting in such a manner but she wasn't all that surprised. It sounded just like them. They didn't spare the Yamanaka clan because of pity or because they were too weak, no, they spared them because Naruto wanted to use them as an example, a lesson to any others that might go against him that even if he was just a clanless Genin he had power they couldn't hope to combat because they weren't even aware of its existence.

How does one dull a blade that is hidden?

"But they're powerful." Ino continued. "More powerful than they should be simply because they're hidden. No one knows of the threat they are and so no one is prepared when they strike. That's the way of the Shinobi, taking advantage of the world as best they can.

However, no matter how horrible they are, one cannot deny the fact that Naruto is involved with them somehow. Maybe he befriended a few that weren't so bad, maybe he hired them because he knows how ruthless they were, or perhaps he was left so desperate and alone that he didn't have a choice."

"Are you saying it's our fault?" The anger was gone and the girl seemed distraught that her brother's involvement with the Wolves may have been, in part, because of her.

"No, not at all. It's no more your fault he became involved with the Wolves than it is the Yamanaka clan's fault he renounced the Uzumaki name."

"And yet your clan suffers for it all the same."

"Someone will always suffer, it's just the way the world is."

"That doesn't mean I like it."

Ino gave her a sad smile.

"Not many do, but that suffering doesn't last forever. Your brother, for whatever suffering he's gone through, seems to be doing well now. Even the Yamanaka clan are getting better. Sure, we've lost a lot, but we had even less not long ago. One just has to keep going no matter what happens if they ever want a chance to escape the cruelties of the world."

"Thank you, Ino. I'm sorry for interrupting you, what were you saying, you know, about my brother and the Wolves?"

"I was saying that it was possible Naruto was their commanding officer or, at the very least, might have contact with one. My father spoke to Naruto to make sure there were no Yamanaka casualties during the feud and it was Naruto who told me the Yamanaka were no longer the enemies of the Wolves after I informed him of our new vassalage. Even if he's not the commanding officer, he seems to be the spokesperson of the Wolves in Konoha. If that's the case, it's equally likely that the higher ranking Wolves contact their forces in Konoha through him.

"It would maintain a chain of command without risking the presence of a High-Captain and Naruto is a resident of Konohagakure no Sato. Before graduation, back when the feud first started, he was still a civilian. As you know, civilian Konoha and Shinobi Konoha are almost two separate entities. While a civilian he had no obligation to report the Wolves or their operations unless they threatened Konoha as a whole. With them only targeting the Yamanaka it was a matter of a single clan instead of the village and even if discovered there wasn't much they could do about it.

"Well," She amended. "that depends on his actual involvement, of course. As just someone to meet on the behalf of the Wolves or to pass on orders he would have been pretty safe and with him being against my clan he became the perfect option. That is, assuming the Wolves were already planning on going after us. It's more likely that he was already helping them set up in Konoha and when I made the mistake of incurring his wrath the Wolves couldn't be kept from joining in."

"Why would he even be a good choice? Why not go for someone who would remain a civilian?"

"I don't know, it's all speculation at this point. Naruto seems pretty mature and he was pretty much alone here in Konoha which made him easily approachable. Without friends or family he was almost always available and no one questioned his whereabouts. Also, as a Shinobi in training it was likely he could relate better to the Wolves and understand their actions better than a civilian that hadn't been exposed to the Shinobi world."

"Because he was all alone." Muttered Naruko. Ino had to wonder if the girl- which was weird to think of her as, for they were both the same age. Naruko simply seemed so much younger than her, however, and that could only be attributed to how little responsibility she had to deal with- had even heard the rest of what she said.

"He was, and then he had the Wolves." Ino tried to reassure her. "Part of them or just working with them for a tidy little paycheck, they support him, as evident by my clan's state and all that's happened to us since he became our enemy."

"I suppose you're right." Naruko miserably admitted. "But we left him to them, we literally left him to the Wolves. He shouldn't have had to deal with them."

"There's no way to be sure about that. If the Wolves were already coming to Konoha he may have ended up working with them anyway. If they really are in Wave then I would say it's safe to say the group is global. I wouldn't be surprised if they pay well and serve as a good connection for any Shinobi to have. A positive relationship with a global organization could prove a rather beneficial boon.

"Besides, if he really does enjoy working for or with them do you really want to take that away?"

"No, I suppose not. It's just that thinking about him becoming like them makes me uneasy. He's so cold now, he doesn't' care about us anymore. It would be easy for him to become just another one of those beasts."

"He's not as cold as you think. He may act that way to those of the Uzumaki clan and perhaps while out in public but he seems far more relaxed behind closed doors. And he does have those he cares about, I think." She paused briefly but went foreward anyway. Naruko wouldn't like it, but it did need to be said. "It's just that you're not one of them right now."

She quite purpously said 'right now' instead of 'anymore' to avoid making things seem final. Luckily, it worked as far as she could tell.

"I know, we left him and he moved on. I can't blame him and certainly couldn't expect him to stay the same after that. During the trip it didn't seem so real, it just didn't feel like that big of a deal, like it only mattered a little. To me it was a chance to train and see the world. It must have been so different for him." A fire shone in her eyes. "But I will make it up to him, no matter what. I'll have my brother back and our family will be whole once more."

Ino suddenly looked rather uncomfortable.

"Is something the matter, Ino?"

"Erm, well, it's just that Naruto and your mother met here at the Yamanaka compound while you were gone-"

"What? What happened? Did something change? Oh, gods, please tell me mother didn't drive him further away somehow."

"Nothing really seemed to change between the two of them. Naruto remained calm and unconcerned about the world around him the entire time and your mom was just nervous about messing up."

"Then why mention it?"

"During the meal Kushina-Sama mentioned that I seem to be on good enough terms with me and he's displayed no signs of being adverse to my presence. After he complimented me on my appearance and with none of her other attempts to bring him back to the Uzumaki clan, she mentioned that she could arrange a marriage between Naruto and myself if he wanted it."

Naruko groaned.

"I don't know why she thinks it's a good idea. She's always mentioning getting Nii-Kun a woman as if it will fix everything."

"Well, maybe if she had brought the woman back with her…." Ino trailed off at Naruko's unamused glare. "I kind of understand why she might think it a good idea at first, you know, it sounds like the dream gift of a teenage boy." She continued. "But from what I understand Naruto is already close to various women. Hinata is his age and they met in the academy, he's often seen with Mitarashi Anko, a Tokubetsu Jounin my dad's worked with, and I know he at least shares a bed with some of the female Wolves at times. So, I guess she's not all that far off with the idea of women, the only problem is that he doesn't need any from her."

Naruko's glare hadn't lessened any.

"Nii-Kun doesn't need to be worrying about that right now. He needs to continue with his Shinobi career and become part of the family again. After that he can go about adding to it, but for now the only two women he needs in his life are me and Kaa-San."

Ino's flushed a bright pink that quickly settled into a deep, dark red.

"Er, that kind of brings us back to why I was telling you about that night."

"Oh, right, continue."

"Naruto mentioned something about if he had wanted me I would have already been his-" Ino managed to ignore the glare burning into her head by turning somewhat in her chair to peer out a well-placed window. "And then he continued to comment about your absence. I'm not sure if he was being serious or if it was meant to bring what she was trying to do with me to her attention, but he mentioned that maybe if she gave him you things would be settled between them."

Until today, Yamanaka Ino had never before borne witness to a face that was twisted in complete horror and yet at the same time blushing madly.

"H-He what?!" The thought that her mother would give her away like some possession was awful but the idea of belonging to her brother reminded her of the day she had the talk with her mother and what she had unknowingly implied about her, her brother, and their mother. That was not helped by her earlier comment that the only two women Naruto needed in his life at the moment were she and her mother.

She could feel her cheeks burning red and was absolutely mortified by the thoughts that went through her head.

After an uncomfortable few moments of silence while Naruko valiantly attempted to calm down and Ino managed to stop blushing the Uzumaki princess found her voice again.

"W-what did my mother say?" Her mother wasn't thinking right lately and she had good reason to be scarred of the answer she might get. Sure, the family would be together again, but families weren't supposed to be together like _that_.

Ever.

"She, well," Ino swallowed nervously. She knew that the longer she took to say it the more distressed her fellow blonde would be but how does one go about telling someone that their mother actually sat there contemplating giving them away as a gift to their estranged brother? "She went silent. I- I think she was thinking about doing it. Eventually she realized we were all watching her and told us you weren't present because you were on a mission outside of Konoha."

Ino continued.

"She didn't bring up the matter again, but she also didn't say anything against the idea. Naruto didn't clarify his reasons for asking, so I'm still not certain he was actually after you like- like _that,_ but if I had to guess he's not going to dissuade her from thinking he does. I wouldn't put it past him to just wait and see what your mother ends up doing. He's probably wondering exactly how far she's going to go in her attempts to get back into his life."

"I see." Naruko seemed a bit shaken up by the news but she deserved to know. If nothing became of it then great, but she should still be aware of what her mother had done. If something did happen, however, at least now she had fair warning. "Do- Do you have any idea why he might not be willing to let us in? I know we abandoned him, but mother's actions alone- successful or not- should be showing him how much we want to make up for it."

The Mindwalker paused for a moment to think upon a fitting response to the question.

"You said it yourself earlier, I think."

"Huh?"

"He needs to focus on his career and his family first. That's what you said, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but we're his family."

"Kushina asked if he wouldn't come home to his mother, he responded saying that his mother and sister left four years ago and he hadn't seen them since."

"No." The word that came out was almost a whine but it carried a clear note of defeat.

"He mentioned having a new family now, who I would suspect as being the Wolves, or at least certain members of it. I could be wrong and he could be referring to Hinata as his family as far as I know but when he mentioned that his family left there was no bitterness in his voice. He was just stating a fact. That's what you should focus on."

"That we're no longer part of his lives and he doesn't care?"

"Exactly! You're no longer part of his life and that means you can reenter it. It might not be easy, but he's moved on."

"How is that good?!"

"Because he doesn't seem to be angry with you! Don't you see? He's treating you both as if he hadn't met you before your return. I know he hasn't forgotten you which means he's making an effort to keep things civil and pretend it's never happened. Did it? Yes, it's done, over with, and it's going to affect you all for the rest of your lives. It's going to take a while for him to open up to you again, that's obvious, but you have to start somewhere and it's better to start at the beginning of the race than two miles away.

"You and your mother are both Kunoichi, you're his comrades whether he likes it or not. Start regaining his trust and work your way slowly back into his life. But you need to remember he's a comrade now too. Treat him with respect and don't push to hard. And, if you ever find yourself on a mission with him, I would recommend doing everything possible to impress him without making yourself look like a fool.

"If you manage to impress him he'll become interested and he'll keep you around. It's how he is."

"So it's good because I have a better chance?"

"That's right."

"I suppose that does make me feel a bit better. Just treat him like I would any other Konoha Shinobi I meet, right?"

"It's a lot more likely to work then trying to force yourself into his life again. And remember, I'm not saying he'll accept you quickly or even guaranteeing it will work. This is just the best way I can think of for you to be a part of his life."

"Thank you, Ino."

"You're welcome, Naruko-Chan. Was there anything else you found out or needed from me? I really do need to finish preparing for your mother's visit."

"No- well, actually, I was wondering if your father might be available one of these days so we can all discuss what we know of the Wolves. I'm sure he sees things we might miss and I'm sure he'd like to learn of our own experiences with them."

"I'll talk to him about it, I'm certain he'd be curious."

"Thanks, I'll get going then. See you around, Ino."

"Have a good day, Naruko-Chan." Ino frowned at her desk. "Now where the fuck did I put that file?"

* * *

It was not all that unusual to see a group consisting of some of the most skilled Kunoichi in Konoha gathered together at a table in one of the village's many restaurants.

What was unusual, however, was the rather somber atmosphere that clung to them.

Any group with a quiet Mitarashi Anko, especially in the company of those like her best friend Yuuhi Kurenai and the usually energetic Inuzuka Hana, was usually not a sign of good fortune.

Whether that lack of fortune was the reason for her usual exuberance to be missing or because someone was about to suffer misfortune was usually impossible to determine from a distance. Those around her today, however, told anyone who bothered to look that Anko was not up to her usual mischief.

That in itself was good news, but whatever had them all down probably wasn't.

Of course, even that's subjective to one's views. It was good news, in a way, just as it was also bad news. One would not be wrong to simply declare it news and leave it at that, for at the end of the day that's all it was.

These Kunoichi, however, didn't like that news and therefore this news was bad news.

"So you're really leaving?" ANBU's cat, one Uzuki Yugao, was probably the most levelheaded of the group. With no major problems in her life and a calmness befitting one who belonged to Konoha's most elite division she usually served as the group's voice of reason.

Not that they often listened.

"Yeah, me and the others leave tomorrow." Hana, like many Inuzuka, was rather wild. While reserved compared to many of her kin, she still had a tendency to stand out amongst her friends. She was always up for some fun but unlike her good friend Anko she usually managed to keep situations from spiraling out of control.

"And you have to go? I get that you're the heiress and all, but what could be so important that you have no choice but to leave?" As the second most levelheaded Kurenai was relied on to help Yugao reign in the other two when things started to get too wild. She was also the one who could manage to get the ANBU to loosen up a bit so they could all enjoy their time together.

"Well, I don't have to, but it is important to the clan and Kaa-San thinks it will be good experience for when I run the clan."

"You know, you still haven't told us what exactly it is you'll be doing outside Hi no Kuni or where you're actually going." Mitarashi Anko was, without a doubt, the most wild of their little group. Unlike the others, she didn't really care about the consequences of her actions and was far more focused with simply having a good time. Her well known bloodthirst and love for explosions also kept away many men who might otherwise decide to approach. Each of the four in the group was undeniably attractive but most people had more common sense than to bother Anko, especially if she was drinking.

"That's because I'm not supposed to. It's clan business and my mother would rather it stay within the clan. For now, at least. She might not mind later but it's too important right now for us to risk letting this get out."

"You almost sound as if what you're doing could be considered treasonous." Pointed out Yugao with a frown. "You're not about to do something stupid, are you?"

"Yeah, you know that's my job." Anko commented.

"Yeah, stupid, like taking a fresh Genin on a C-rank mission, blowing up a casino, and then sharing a bed with him in a town away from Konoha." Kurenai hadn't been too pleased to hear about that. Maybe if they had taken someone else with them, even a hidden Wolf guard, she wouldn't have minded so much. The thought of Anko alone with any Genin during a mission was unsettling, but for it to be the young man Anko was desperate to thank for the removal of her Ten no Juin really made Kurenai nervous.

The council and general populace of Konoha already wasn't too fond of the Tokubetsu Jounin and they didn't need any more reasons to dislike her. Hearing that she somehow managed to get knocked up by the former Uzumaki prince while on a C-rank mission certainly wouldn't endear her to anybody.

Of course, then there would be the problem with Kushina, too. Gods know the woman would have gone ballistic if that had happened.

Maybe she could convince Yugao to accompany them on all future missions, that would certainly help put her at ease.

"You're just jealous, Kure-Chan. It's not my fault you haven't tried to use him as a teddy bear yet. Considering how often he has a woman in his bed he probably wouldn't think much of it were you to join him."

"He let you use him as a teddy bear?" There was only the faintest hint of a blush on the Genjutsu mistress's face.

Anko smirked.

"No, I ended up sprawled all over him. Wanting a cuddle-buddy is your thing."

"Girls, if you're quite done, can we get back to the matter at hand? I'd think discussing Hana's imminent departure would be more important than what the two of you are doing in bed with a Genin." Yugao, as always, was the voice of reason. Like usual, Anko really didn't' care.

"Aw, that's boring. I'd much rather talk about Naruto-Kun. Have found yourself in his bed yet? I know you two were training together for a bit, ever pop over to his house afterwards for a shower?"

"Well, yeah, once or twice. Usually it was if he got injured so I could help him."

"With the shower?" Anko's words had a noticeable blush on the ANBU's usually impassive face.

"With the wound!"

"So you've never shared a shower with him? Never seen him naked?" Anko continued to inquire, relishing in the fact that she was getting a reaction out of the woman.

"Erm, well…" While she hadn't actually seen him in the buff, she had seen him pretty close to it. She had never shared a shower with him either but that didn't' change the fact that she had helped him clean the blood off of him after his spar with Naruko. It was just about as close to Anko's questions as one could get.

"Oh my god, you did, didn't you? The most reserved of us has made it the furthest with our favorite Genin!"

"I was just helping him get clean."

"You washed him? Damn girl, you move fast. To think Kurenai's worried about me." Kurenai did indeed look rather surprised by Yugao's admissions as Anko made the comment. Hana, meanwhile, simply looked to be amused by the conversation. She didn't know who this Naruto was but now she kind of wanted to meet him, if only to hear his side of these stories.

"It's not like that! He was injured in a spar and the Hokage had asked that I help him. We went back to his apartment so I could patch him up."

"And you just so happened to need to wash him." It was obvious the Tokubetsu Jounin didn't believe her. "I know he would have told you he was fine and could do it himself which means you insisted on doing it for him. I didn't think the kitty would be so forceful and forward with a Genin."

"Anko!"

"Don't know why you're uncomfortable with it, I'd have done the same. In fact, good job, Yugao, you're making the rest of us look like amateurs."

"We're not trying anything, Anko." Claimed Kurenai. "And I hope you remember that."

"Sure we aren't, doesn't mean it isn't happening though." Anko countered. "So, when was this?"

"First day of team meetings. He was sparing against his sister before them and she didn't show much restraint throwing trees at him after he cut away her top."

Naturally, Anko focused on the important details.

"Oh? So the same day Kure-Chan here is telling me I shouldn't be sleeping with him in almost nothing he was getting a good view of his sister's tits and letting Yugao rub her hands all over his body? Well that's not fair at all, I guess I don't really need to hold back any next time I see him."

Kurenai sighed as a blushing Yugao let her head rest on the table they sat at.

"Can we get back to the matter of Hana's mystery clan mission now?" Asked the only Jounin sensei in the group.

"There's not much to tell." Admitted the woman. "It's sensitive clan business that may eventually prove beneficial for Konoha as a whole. I'm going to be gone anywhere between two weeks and until it's time for me to run the Inuzuka clan. "

"That long?" Yugao peered up from her position on the table to look at the Inuzuka heir that had just sat back and enjoyed their conversation.

"If that's the case we might never see you again." Commented Kurenai.

"Oh, she'll be fine." Anko was unphased by the news. "And if she's gone too long we'll just track her down for a visit. It is rather unfortunate though…"

Cautiously, Hana took the bait.

"What's rather unfortunate?"

"You'll miss out on all the fun with Naruto."

Yugao and Kurenai groaned quietly, dragged back to the subject they had only narrowly escaped. Hana just smiled before deciding to have a bit of fun herself.

"Oh, I guess you're right." That instantly had the groups attention. "A pity, he sounds great. Who knows how far I may have gotten knowing it might prove to be my only chance?" It took all her effort not to start laughing at the dumbfounded expression the calmer two of the group now sported. A grin, predictably, had spread over Anko's face.

"Say, Anko." Continued the Inuzuka heiress. "You wouldn't happen to know if he's available at the moment, do you? I might as well make the most of my limited time with him. Wouldn't want to waste any."

Anko's grin melted off her face and she seemed rather disappointed.

"I haven't seen him around lately, I have no idea where he is. I keep trying to visit him but his little girlfriend Mai keeps telling me he's still busy with personal business."

"He has a girlfriend?" That made the conversation the group had been having previously kind of odd. Going after Genin was one thing and she didn't judge others for their particular tastes- which is to be expected considering how many of her fellow clanmates had fallen in love with their companions and weren't ashamed to discuss their rather interesting sex life out in public- but going after someone who's involved in a relationship was quite another. Add them together and Hana was a bit confused, none of her friend- bar maybe Anko- had previously struck her as the type.

"No, or, we don't think he does, but there's a young woman who's often with him and gets rather flustered pretty easily when it comes to Naruto. If nothing else the girl has a crush on him." Clarified Kurenai.

"Are you sure the two of them aren't together?" Asked Hana. Kurenai frowned deeply at the question.

"Well, no, he took both her and Anko out to dinner and she's almost always leaving his apartment when we arrive, even if it's early in the morning."

"Visited one day soon after the kid helped me out to find him resting with his head in her lap." Added Anko. "They certainly looked good together and it would make sense if they were a couple but even then I don't get the feeling they're exclusive."

"And why's that?" Yugao asked this time, curious for more information about the personal life of her former student.

In response Anko pointed across the restaurant where one Inuzuka Tsume was sat across from a dark haired young woman.

"Because she seems to currently be on a date with Hana's mother. I suppose she could be cheating on him but even then I don't' suspect he'd mind, especially if they let him watch."

It was Hana's turn to blush madly.

"Can't blame him." Muttered Yugao quietly. "What teenage boy wouldn't enjoy that?"

"A gay one." Anko was quick to comment but froze as the words came out of her mouth. She and Kurenai shared a shocked look.

"You don't think…" Kurenai started.

"Well, he hasn't actually made any moves on us, and there are plenty of women comfortable sharing a bed with him….."

Hana's embarrassment faded into amusement at Anko's growing look of horror.

"He- He's gay?" Kurenai was looking like she couldn't believe it.

"What? That's bullshit!" Declared Anko. "How the fuck am I supposed to thank him if he's gay?!"

Hana couldn't help it.

She burst out laughing.

* * *

Two fingers trailed gently down ebon feathers as purple eyes inspected the paper held loosely in his other hand.

It only took a few lines to recognize the writer and he was pleasantly surprised to learn he was wrong. Uchiha Itachi, a rouge Shinobi from Konohagakure no Sato, was known for his frequent use of crows in his techniques and so when a black bird came bearing a roll of parchment he became suspicious. That really wasn't helped by the small metal bangle clasped on the bird's leg that quite proudly displayed the Uchiha's signature fan.

Of course, the bird was actually a raven, but that didn't make him any less cautious.

One had to remember that Itachi was not the only Uchiha still alive- he knew of three personally and the Sandaime had mentioned more bodies being missing- and he also wasn't the first to be associated with the midnight birds.

Luckily, the sender seemed to be aware that they were no longer the primary Uchiha associated with the birds and had thus sent a raven instead. Though he supposed it didn't matter much this time because he came to the same conclusion anyway. For future visits, however, he would now know.

Other than the piece of metal with the Uchiha fan on it there seemed to be nothing special about the bird and certainly nothing that hinted at it being a summon of some sort. If this really was just a trained bird then he was really damn impressed, both with it and its owner. How they- in this case being both the bird and its trainer- knew where to find him he didn't know and if the bird had managed to find him without the owner knowing where he currently was then he had to give the raven credit because it was either very skilled or blessed with the devil's luck.

The bird wasn't his focus, however, and his attention remained upon the letter in his hand. She had mentioned being a spy for him, but it certainly looked like she was doing her best to keep her word. Her report wasn't much, unfortunately, despite her being in a group she claimed to be made up of S-rank criminals. Apparently they were just getting started and not much was happening.

In between apologies for not having a proper report she had given him the most complete profile of every member that she could. What made it a bit more interesting was that she included both her and her alter-ego, someone by the name of Tobi, and had given a description of the hidden leadership within the group. A man –or perhaps plant, she admitted in her writings- named Zetsu managed a plot that the figurehead leader Pein was yet unaware of. Pein took orders, most interestingly, from Tobi who, in turn, took her orders from Zetsu. Zetsu, when not working towards a plan Tobi was not fully informed about, took orders from Pein.

She made sure to express her frustration for the mess their chain of command currently was and the confusion of not always being sure who was in charge in what situation.

Other than what information she could scrounge up on members, their current location, and the general goal of the group, there wasn't much information-wise in the letter. There was, however, plenty of inquiries to his health and requests that he get a lot of rest and eat his vegetables.

A fond smile tugged at his lips as he read over those parts.

It would seem she was trying to take the role of his mother now that her own family had been taken from her. Or, maybe, he had taken the role of her son in her mind. Either way, she wanted to make sure he was well cared for and he found it quite amusing.

Here he was, leading a mercenary group that just took over a country and he had an escaped Uchiha clan member hiding in a group of S-rank Shinobi over in Ame reminding him to get a good night's rest.

Of course, speaking of the Uchiha, he still hadn't had a chance to ask one Uchiha Sasuke, sole recognized survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre, what his relations to her were. He could ask her himself but it would be terrible to get her hopes up at another family member when she couldn't visit him. If they weren't closely related then great, there was a big chance the two of them had never crossed paths and she wouldn't feel too bad about not being able to contact them.

And if they were?

Too damn bad, she was his now.

As he continued to pet her trained raven a thin smile spread over his lips.

Yes, Uchiha Mikoto was his, and he wasn't about to lose her.

* * *

 **And thus concludes tonight's show, I look forward to seeing you all back next week for Act XXXI. Now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I've been up for the past thirty eight hours and my body isn't too appreciative of that fact at the moment.**

 **Until the next showing, my faithful audience.**


	31. Falling Apart

**Pretty standard chapter here, not much to say. I would like to, however, make this as clear as possible for those who may still be wondering-**

 **There is no set pairing.**

 **I probably get asked that question more than any other. I'm not aiming to give Naruto a Harem and there's no girl I plan on him being with in the 'end'. [Kukukukukuku]**

 **It's likely I'll still get asked by some but I hope this answers the question for the rest of you. I'm just following the story's flow as best I can. If that ends up with him in a relationship with someone one chapter and broken up the next, so be it.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's get started!**

* * *

Naturally, the first thing they saw was the bridge as it stretched over the chopping waters and towards the village proper. The morning mist swirled upwards in serpentine tendrils that clung to the ground and cold concrete of the massive structure.

Four Wolves, two on each side, stood at attention before the bridge. A small building had been erected off to the right in which they could see two more. It was a checkpoint, obviously, but a small list of fees posted in clearly readable print on a sign near it also spoke of it being some sort of toll booth.

Of course, as they had been invited at the behest of Tsukiyomi she wasn't even going to worry about it. If he wanted them there he could foot the damn fee himself.

The Wolves seemed to be of the same opinion and made no move to approach the oncoming group.

Passing without issue the group of ten Inuzuka soon came to the apex of the bridge and were greeted by their first look at the village that was to be their home ranging from anywhere from a few weeks to possible decades.

It looked clean enough, most of the buildings in good repair and the few they could see in need of it were currently in the process of being fixed up. Set farther away from the village was a manmade clearing in which they could see piles of refuse being added to by workers and sorted through by scavengers. Set near the water as it was, a small group of villagers were seen at a small dock loading two separate boats. One seemed filled with salvageable items and the other with trash.

Obviously, this was still rather new and she remembered hearing about the recent change of ownership. Evidently that change was doing a lot of good. Idly, part of her mind made the connection that this was the village of Nami no Kuni, the same Nami no Kuni she was going to be managing on behalf of Tsukiyomi. It was an odd feeling but not unpleasant.

This, all of this, was her responsibility now, these people would look up to her to take care of them. It was a scary thought and she would not deny that she was somewhat intimidated, but she was also eager to be able to leave her own mark here, hopefully as the first of many leaders who would see this country prosper.

As she and her companions continued to take in the sight of the village from a distance they were approached by a Wolf with a red fur mantle.

"Governor Inuzuka," He greeted as he neared. "Welcome to Nami no Kuni. I do hope there was no incident on your journey."

Obviously addressing her, Hana replied.

"Governor?"

"It was suggested by Tsukiyomi-Sama. It could be Duchess, if you like, but anything else we'd have to run by him first."

"No, no, Governor is fine. Is there a reason he chose that?"

"He liked the way it sounded." She could feel the grin under his mask.

"I see. Our journey was uneventful…"

"Ah, my apologies." He held out his hand, which she took firmly. "I am Commander Sai, leader of the Wolves. We'll be working together a lot from now on."

"A pleasure, I'm sure. I thought Tsukiyomi-Dono was the leader of the Wolves."

"He was, he appointed me when it became apparent he didn't have enough time to personally oversee all his projects."

"And that's where Mai comes in?" She couldn't hide the slight annoyance in her voice at the mention of the young woman. Representing a shady organization was one thing but dating her mother was just weird.

"I see you've met her." It figured that the Wolf would pick up on her annoyance. "Yes, that's where she comes in. All project heads, as I'll refer to them for simplicity's sake, report to her so that Tsukiyomi-Sama can focus on our collective future."

"So you're one of these project heads?"

"Yes." He nodded. "As are you. Are you going to have problems reporting to and taking orders from Mai?"

"No, I'll manage."

"Very well. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly has she done to earn your ire?"

"Only if I can ask a question about her of you." At Sai's nod she continued. "She took my clan head out on a date."

"Your clan head being your mother, yes?"

"That's right."

"Your mother." He repeated quietly. "She took your mother on a date. That's- odd. Why on earth would she do that?"

"Is that not typical?"

"I know she can be quite…playful…around those she likes, but this is the first I've heard of her taking someone out on a date. The fact that it's an older woman just makes things more strange."

"Oh? How so? Something wrong with my mother?"

"Oh, no, not at all, it just doesn't match up with her previous interests." He was frowning in thought beneath his mask. "She seemed pretty fond of Naruto-San, who is a younger male, and she's around Tsukiyomi-Sama as much as possible. I'm almost certain those two are closer than friends at this point. That being said, her going for a woman seems pretty out of place and I thought I knew her better."

"Maybe things just weren't going well with Tsukiyomi-Dono and she needed a break?"

"Ah, yes, maybe that's it." He grinned beneath his mask. "If he were currently absent from her life it would certainly explain her behavior. She likes to cuddle you know and if your mother is even half as attractive as you are she would make an excellent choice."

Hana tried to get the thought of them eventually getting married out of her head. The girl was younger than she was, things would be infinitely awkward. Maybe it was some elaborate scheme to keep her here in wave. She shook her head with a faint snort, that was just ridiculous.

"Just so long as she doesn't end up my second mother."

"I wouldn't worry, I don't think Mai would be able to go through with such commitment- she's already to invested with Tsukiyomi-Sama and his plans."

"Well, that's one less worry, I guess."

"I suppose it is. You had a question about Mai, I believe?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why did he choose her, Tsukiyomi-Dono, I mean. She can't be older than me and yet he's given her control over you and your Wolves in addition to whoever else is aligned with him."

Sai thought briefly about it.

"She's competent." He finally admitted. "And she has proven so time and time again. I would think, however, that a more likely answer would be that he favors her. She's been his assistant since the beginning and he's probably taken a liking to her."

"As good a reason as any, I guess. If he trusts her, why wouldn't he, no?"

"Indeed. Now, shall I take you to your temporary lodging?"

"Temporary?"

He nodded even as he turned to lead them away.

"Oh, yes. We've begun constructing a suitable home and office for you and your companions but because Tsukiyomi-Sama only recently decided to extend this offer to you it's not quite ready yet. A few more weeks, I would suspect; he's paying handsomely for the local workers to focus on this project."

"Then where will we be staying?"

"Gato had a small mansion built that was surprisingly well defended, considering the fact that he's a civilian businessman, and we Wolves have been staying there. You'll be welcome to stay with us there which is quite fortunate. Considering the amount of Wolves who stay there, even off duty, it's the most well defended location in the country. Also, it's where Gato kept all his documents, which means it's where the two of us- meaning mostly you- would have to start as we continue to establish a firm hold on the country and start guiding it in the right direction."

"And what direction is that?"

"Honestly? Whichever way the people want to go. It will help them accept us and show them that they still have their own freedoms while giving us the resources needed for other projects. We give them the opportunity, they start to grow and expand, and then with our guidance we ensure everything runs smoothly."

"So you're really taking the role of guiding seriously, offering the advice and opportunities and letting the people decide whether to follow it or not."

Sai went silent for a moment, thinking of the best way to put it. "Well, no, not exactly. While the people decide how, we Wolves require that progress be made in order to support our own growth. There's also the matter of ensuring people don't do thing that may be detrimental. To that effect, they can do as they like so long as they're actually doing something but there are things we cannot accept. When they cross that line, we step it."

"Doesn't seem to be much ruling then. What's my job?"

"No, not much ruling, there's no need at the moment. Your job is to work with me and the Wolves to keep things running smoothly."

"Is that going to be difficult? I can't imagine too many problems arising."

"So far we haven't had any, the people are happy to work together in an effort to undo all the damage Gato caused. Unfortunately, we can't expect it to stay this way forever. Sooner or later conflicts will arise as everybody tries to rise above their neighbors. That's when the real work starts. Luckily, we get a head start and the better the foundation we can lay and the more growth we have to increase variety the better off everybody will be."

"Makes sense, I guess. When do we start?"

"Tsukiyomi-Sama is leaving in a few days, he'd like you and your companions to be settled and familiar with the country before he does. That said, I'll probably have you start as soon as he's out of sight. Like I said earlier, the sooner we get this done the less we'll have to fix in the long run."

"Alright, sounds good to me."

The Inuzuka clanmembers stayed silent as their heiress spoke with the Wolf and when the two stopped speaking the silence remained. It near the same time that buildings began to surround them.

"Ah, here we have the village proper." Commented Sai. "I'd ask that you all pay attention to your surroundings so they become familiar. This will be your home for a while, I'm sure, and it's allways a good idea to know your surroundings."

No one else spoke but that didn't seem to bother the commander of the Wolves any.

Though it was still pretty early in the morning the streets were filled with people, not all that surprising considering how much the village relied upon fishing, and it was obvious that the villagers were currently pleased with their situation.

Laughing children darted in between legs and excited chatter filled the air as gossip made its rounds. A few restaurant were already open and smells of spices that had for so long been out of reach to the people wafted out to draw in customers.

Of course, all that happiness was offset starkly by the imposing image of wolves perched upon rooftops in a manner as unfitting as gargoyles upon a farmhouse. And while the people of Wave seemed to take little notice of the silent watchers on their roofs they did notice those who patrolled the streets.

Very few of the adults that passed wandered closely to the Wolves or seemed to interact with them if they could at all help it. Unperturbed, the Wolves continued to inspect wares, catch the occasional would-be thief, and break up the fights of drunken dockworkers who had just got off their night shift.

The children, on the other hand, were much more welcoming.

In one alley Hana could see a Wolf crouched down by a fence, a group of young boys huddled around them all holding Kunai as the Shinobi instructed them on how to wield them. Broad smiles stretched the lips of each of them and they were eager and excited to learn.

Another two Wolves nearby tried their best to keep vigil as a troupe of giggling girls braided long hair and filled it with flowers. The only response they received was when the male Wolf removed the carefully woven flower circlet from his head and instead nestled it atop his female companion's. Naturally, a new circlet was placed on his head seconds after.

Neither of them seemed to mind.

Watching, Hana couldn't keep the grin off her face.

Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she had thought.

* * *

A generous amount of his drink made its way past his lips. It had been a long time since he had last sat across from his old rival and he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

Said rival, on the other hand, didn't seem to share his sentiment. Odd, that, he was usually considered the one lacking emotion.

"What did you want now, Danzou?" His rival had seem more and more worn lately, his age finally catching up to him. He supposed that was a good sign that he was getting to old for this as well. They would both need to find replacements or, if the gods smiled down upon them, they needed to find a single replacement that could take both their roles.

Hopefully, however, they would not keep them as long as the two rivals had, that kind of workload was simply too much. Idly, he had to wonder if Naruto would find himself with the same problem or if he had found a solution that worked for him. He knew very well the stress of running his own organization and even though he had done most of Naruto's work for him he also had a lot more experience than the young man.

Oh well, if nothing else it pointed him out as his prospective replacement. Even without asking he'd probably take up the role simply by nature. It was only right, he mused, that the dark side of Konohagakure be filled with yet another who understood the importance of shadows.

The darkness provided freedoms the light couldn't and restrictions that kept one bound to them, but maybe Naruto would manage to find some sort of middle ground, even if just to give him the necessary freedom to support his village.

"Just had some news I felt you might be interested in. I doubt Jiraiya's network has picked it up yet and even if it had you wouldn't be receiving the report until sometime next week unless he deemed it sufficiently urgent."

"If it's not urgent, why would you want to bring it to my attention yourself?" Hiruzen raised a single brow. "Even if you thought I might like to know a letter from you would have been sufficient."

"It's not necessarily important." Confessed Danzou. "I just found it interesting and wanted to be able to share it with you personally."

It didn't take long for the old Sarutobi to hazard a guess as to why.

"Naruto's somehow involved, isn't he?"

Danzou, the Yami no Shinobi, grinned in response. Hiruzen had to stile a groan, which only seemed to further amuse the retired Shinobi.

"Alright." Sighed the Sandaime. "What is it you wanted to bring to my attention?"

"You are familiar with the situation in Nami no Kuni, yes?" Questioned the leader of Root.

"I am, Hatake Kakashi made his report for team seven's recent C-rank turned A-rank that gave me a brief overview."

"How brief?"

"It was Kakashi." The Sandaime Hokage said that as if it alone was an explanation. He wasn't wrong, but he clarified without prompting regardless. "Very brief."

"What, exactly, did he tell you?"

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Hiruzen nonetheless answered.

"Team seven escorted the bridge builder Tazuna from Konoha to Wave. The mission was successful but complicated by the appearance of the demon brothers Gouzu and Meizu and then later by one Momochi Zabuza. In the end Gato, the tycoon who had been controlling Nami no Kuni with an iron fist, was dealt with and Zabuza was driven off after receiving grievous but not fatal damage."

Sarutobi paused briefly before shrugging.

"Also Kakashi liked to point out that all his Genin were horrible disappointments and he would have done better had they all been burnt logs. There was something about The Worm in his report, too, but I admit I have no idea what he was talking about or how it related in any way to the mission."

"And that was all?"

"He explained in great detail his conquest of the client's daughter. Apparently her ass alone had him briefly contemplating sending back his Genin team with his headband so he could stay there. "

"That is…troubling." Noted Danzou. "To think one of our best would be tempted to leave us for a civilian woman's body."

After a moment of silence Hiruzen quietly commented;

"Must have been a hell of an ass."

Danzou was nodding in agreement without so much as a second thought.

"Think we could convince her to join Konoha? A weapon like that would be more efficient than a Jinchuriki any day."

"And when we weren't at war?"

"Something administrative, maybe." Mused the Warhawk. "A position where she would walk around a lot. Would work wonders for morale."

"I can't believe you're actually considering this."

"I can't believe you're not." He countered.

"Can we please get back to the reason for your visit? I doubt you came here to talk about an ass Kakashi tapped."

To his credit, Danzou did look a bit embarrassed once he realized the direction their conversation was going.

"Ah, yes, got a bit sidetracked there. Now, while what Kakashi told you is not wrong and is, for the most part, complete. You should know him well enough to realize he left out details that while not directly pertaining to his mission of guarding the bridgebuilder are nonetheless important."

Hiruzen wasn't surprised but he had to wonder if that was just Kakashi and he shouldn't have given him a team or if Kakashi was doing things like this on purpose because he didn't want a team. Neither answer was good, but the second was preferable, if only because the blame wasn't on him.

"And what did he leave out?"

"That iron fist of Gato's he mentioned? It was enforced by a group of wild dogs we know of here in Konoha."

"The Wolves?"

"The very same." Danzou nodded. "Gato hired them a while ago and they've been acting as his enforcers since."

"And they just let team seven complete their mission?"

"I'd say it's more likely that team seven helped them complete theirs."

Pondering that, Hiruzen rubbed his chin lightly before the realization struck.

"They were lying in wait to betray Gato, weren't they?"

"Indeed. When Gato gathered is group in an effort to crush the remaining resistance in Wave the Wolves took the opportunity to slaughter him and his forces."

"There's more you're not telling me." The Sandaime accused.

"The Wolves have taken over the country, claiming it under the protection of their leader, someone by the name of Tsukiyomi."

The Professor snorted at the presumptuous name.

"So Wave is theirs, then. What of it? Cant' be much worse than while under Gato."

"Oh, no, Nami no Kuni is doing very well from what my spies have seen. Or, rather, what they're allowed to."

Hiruzen raised a single brow in question.

"So long as my men stay around the village the Wolves do nothing more than offer a Konoha salute when passing. Should they attempt to actually enter the village, however, they are quite forcefully removed."

"I see. And how does this relate at all to Naruto?"

"You know as well as I that Naruto is involved with the Wolves."

"I won't deny I've had my suspicions."

"There are no suspicions, he's involved. It's a fact. I've seen his Wolf guard, hell, I trained them."

That got Hiruzen's attention. Eyes narrowed he asked;

"What are the Wolves? You obviously know more than what I've been able to piece together."

"They were, at one point, Root agents undergoing training. These agents, unfortunately, could not be successfully conditioned and retained most of their emotions despite my best efforts." Danzou shrugged lightly. "It's a rare few that can be both trained effectively and conditioned to feel little to nothing, it's why my operation has so few." The rejects I allowed back into the Konoha populace to continue life as civilians. If nothing else, I figured, having Shinobi-trained civilians would prove to be a boon during a crisis where they could aid Konoha Shinobi in getting their fellow civilians to safety."

The Sandaime didn't like what he was hearing but he couldn't deny that it was a fairly sound idea. There were worse uses for the rejects of Danzou's illegal little pet project.

"Ignoring the fact that you've continued with Root despite it being disbanded and have apparently trained far more operatives than you have under your control, how did they become the Wolves?"

"Originally they still were under my control." Explained Danzou. "And then someone else, this Tsukiyomi, managed to take it from me. It is he who created the Wolves."

"So Tsukiyomi takes advantage of your trained operatives and creates himself a little army, how is Naruto involved? That's the one thing I can't quite puzzle out."

"Isn't it obvious? Naruto is Tsukiyomi."

Hiruzen looked at him skeptically.

"Before you explained it I would have believed you, but how could he have possibly managed to gain control over them? One of the reasons Root was disbanded was because you used seals too keep control over your operatives. I doubt you'd even attempt to train anyone without similar precautions."

"And yet Naruto has somehow managed to edit the seal. I don't know if it's still in effect or nullified completely, but he has their loyalty now."

"And a country."

Danzou smiled.

"Yes, and a country. This does, however, provide you with a good opportunity. Konoha is not all that well of financially after the past few wars and with the massive loss of Shinobi after the Uchiha massacre the effects will be felt before long. We're better off than Suna or Iwa but that won't last forever."

"So you propose I come to some sort of arrangement with Wave through Naruto."

"Exactly."

"And this isn't some attempt to get your own spies into better positions in Nami no Kuni?"

"Well, it would certainly help with that." Admitted the Yami no Shinobi. "But while I think it's important to watch him I don't have the feeling Konoha would suffer terribly were we not to do so. He's more likely to take up arms for us than against us."

"What brings you to that conclusion? As far as I can tell he doesn't have anyone left here in Konoha other than perhaps Uzuki Yugao, his temporary Sensei during the academy, or Mitarashi Anko who seems to have taken a liking to the boy and enjoys taking him out on missions."

"Because despite this, Konoha is his home and Wolves can be rather territorial."

"You're relying on him being possessive." Hiruzen paused. "And Tsukiyomi. Do you have proof of either?"

"He strikes me as territorial and I'm completely certain that he and Tsukiyomi are the same. You asked me what the Wolves were and here's your answer- the Wolves are Naruto's personal army."

A deep sigh left Hiruzen's lips.

"I was afraid of that, let's hope you're right."

' _By the gods, let's hope you're right. Because Konoha is in no shape to weather an assault right now, especially from the inside.'_

He would remain blissfully unaware of the troubles of the Hyuuga clan until it was too late for him to intervene.

* * *

The house was quiet, far more quiet than it should have ever been. Unfortunately, she found herself getting used to it these days. Long gone was the laughter and pounding of feet as she and her brother played, no longer did her mother's lullabies fill the air. Naruto, focusing more on his studies, no longer called out for her to come back in from the back garden for dinner.

No, dinner now was taken in silence at the table alone, the house empty around her. Her brother hadn't been here in over four years and her mother seemed to only stop by late at night to sleep after a quick shower. She was usually gone before breakfast.

The house was not what she remembered, not what she dreamed about returning to during the four years she received instruction in the Kunoichi arts from her mother as they traveled the world. Never before could she imagine their home being so cold, so lifeless.

But that's what it had become.

With her brother gone and her mother always away taking care of clan business for the Uzumaki and Yamanaka she had the home to herself- the dream of many her age.

Even with visits to the Yamanaka heiress, swamped in work and always appreciative of an excuse to take a quick break, Naruko had never before felt so alone.

Even Mito, sealed within her and more than capable of conversing at any moment, would not utter a whisper. She no doubt still held that mistake she had made during the spar against her and there was no hope or repairing their relationship until Mito had been returned to her brother.

Considering that her consciousness would reside primarily with her brother from then on, it made the chances of repairing the relationship at all rather slim. No, that bridge was thoroughly burned and she was trapped on the other side lost and alone.

This would all be so much easier if she still had her brother. She had always looked to him for guidance and would happily follow his lead. His path, however, had no room for her at the moment. She would only get in the way. The worst part about it was that her absence from his life is part of the reason he was on that path and every day it seemed he was farther and farther away, never to be recovered.

But she was an Uzumaki, and they never gave up.

Even if it was on her deathbed, she would gain his acceptance once more. It was for that reason that she decided on the first step to getting closer to him- keeping her mother from driving him further away.

It would be impossible to make any progress with her mother's attempts- no matter how well-meaning they might be- constantly undoing any work she might have been able to put towards her goal of having her family as complete as possible.

She didn't' have to step in, of course, her mother was doing enough to wear herself out and Naruko was confident that even without her Kushina would end up exhausting herself to the point where she would be able to think about what it was she was doing. So full of frantic desperation her mother never seemed to fully think out her plans and while her determination was admirable- perhaps not to the average person, but to an Uzumaki- it was doing more harm than good.

So while her mother would stop soon, it didn't necessarily mean she would stop soon enough. Every attempt chanced damaging their failing relations to Naruto far too much and the sooner she stopped the sooner damage control could be run.

That said, Naruko really wasn't a morning person and so getting up before her mother wasn't an option. Also, knowing that she had spent the day working with the Yamanaka in running the clan and managing Uzumaki properties that hadn't received attention in years stopping her from taking a shower and some well-deserved rest would just be inconsiderate.

With that in mind, Naruko had decided there was really only one option- she just stayed up all night.

The light from her mother's room shone through the bottom of the door as she got ready for the day and Naruko only looked away from the door long enough to check the time as if her mother might disappear if she weren't paying enough attention.

' _Quarter to four? There's no way I could have woken up this early.'_

Reassured that this was the best course of action- though her eyelids strongly disagreed (It should be noted that hard training during the day when you intended to stay awake all night was a rather poor idea)- she anxiously awaited her mother's emergence from her room.

Naturally, after having spent the entire night doing absolutely nothing, this was when she realized that she didn't actually know what she was going to tell her mother.

The creaking of the door and the light that spilled into the hallway, however, told her that she really didn't' have any time to worry about it.

"Naruko?" Kushina looked understandably puzzled to see her daughter waiting outside her room.

"Morning, Kaa-chan, it's been a while since I last saw you." Maybe a bit of guilt would help convince the woman to slow down and think about what she was doing. The guilt part itself seemed to be working and was evident on her face as she gazed down at her daughter.

"I'm sorry, my little sunflower, I've had a lot of stuff to take care of. Was there something you needed?" Despite having just woken up, Kushina looked rather haggard and exhaustion seemed to cling to her. Considering she had two clans to deal with at the moment and the stress of Naruto's absence piled atop it was easy to see why. The use of such an old nickname and the slight guilt on her features only served to make Naruko seem guilty about trying such a route. Her mother was already dealing with enough at the moment.

"I just think you've been doing too much." That was probably both a great understatement and a subtle hint at the fact that she was going too far. Subtlety, unfortunately, was a rather foreign concept to most Uzumaki. Honestly, it was only because of her Sensei's constant subtle jabs and insults that she herself had managed to pick up on it.

"I have to do a lot if we want your brother back." Her heart was certainly in the right place but the methods were all wrong. Pointing that out by itself probably would have worked fine, but Naruko made a rather grave mistake.

"I understand that, but I spoke with Ino and I think you might be going about this wrong."

And that was it. The conversation wasn't going to be going any further because she had brought up the Yamanaka- the current target of her mother's blame. Even though Naruto seemed to be on amicable enough terms with the Mindwalkers Kushina seemed to take out all her frustration on the clan.

"I see, so just because that little bitch spews more lies about my son- your brother- you think that I'm wrong?"

Naruko didn't get a chance to respond as her mother stormed off.

Giving a defeated sigh, she slumped to the ground.

Naruto was gone and they both wanted him back and yet the family was still falling apart.

There was no hope in them all being a happy family once more-

The Uzumaki clan was done for.

Perhaps it always had been, ever since that day four years ago when they abandoned a clanmate and forsook everything they had once stood for.

That thought did nothing to stop the tears.

* * *

 **Like most chapters, I had intended for there to be more scenes but, as usual, the scenes I did write went on far longer than I had expected. Naruto was supposed to be after this but considering the way I ended this chapter I now have another scene (at least) to include before it. Hopefully that scene (perhaps 'Character Focus' would be more apt?) doesn't stretch on for the full 5K.**

 **I look forward to seeing you all next week for act XXXII**


	32. Father of the Wolves

**Pretty standard chapter again. I have a list of scenes I can write, I start writing, I manage to fit two or three into a chapter. Of course, this chapter brings back Naruto, so that should please most of you.**

 **It also means people can get off my case about him not showing up enough.**

 **Yes, I understand I haven't been focusing on him. Yes, I know he's the main character.**

 **But were I to neglect everyone else I could probably have this story done by chapter forty and it would be exceedingly dry.**

 **I'm dealing with a world here, the least it deserves is for me to make it feel like a world. If that means I have to stop for a moment and flesh out everything else so that scenes with Naruto are better and more meaningful, I'll happily do so.**

 **On that note, I should probably mention that I've been planing on having a Kurenai arc at some point dealing with the past I promised to explain more in the earlier chapters. Not sure when that will show up, but be expecting it because I highly doubt it will take less than a couple chapters to cover. Maybe a double chapter if I'm lucky and manage to do only the bare minimum.**

 **And with that out of the way, there's only one thing left before we start.**

 **Earlier today I received two reviews from "oldspiceweasel" and they raised some valid points about my story- points I would be quite happy to discuss had they not turned off private messaging. Not sure if they'll end up reading this far, but if they do and see this I'd appreciate them contacting me so we can discuss their reviews.**

 **On that note, if you're going to ask questions in your reviews or leave me with a long list of things you don't like _PLEASE_ leave me with a way to contact you. It's quite difficult to answer questions when I can't respond and I'd like to discuss with the people that dislike parts of my story so I can find ways to improve it.**

 **That said, I thank you all for reading and reviewing my work.**

 **On with the show.**

* * *

The tightness of her chest and the stinging of unshed tears in her eyes was nothing compared to the regret that had already settled to gnaw at her stomach. She shouldn't have been so angry, especially at her own daughter, and she knew it. Naruko wanted her brother back just as much as she wanted the return of her son. It wasn't the girl's fault that the closest thing to a friend she had was the Yamanaka heiress nor was it her fault that the Yamanaka were the best to go to in regards to information about Naruto, having interacted with Naruto more than most.

But logic holds little to no sway over one's emotions.

She couldn't stop herself from being angry when the clan she held most accountable for the loss of her son was brought up and most certainly couldn't help the feeling of betrayal when her daughter seemed to associate more with them than her own mother. Considering she was rarely around these days, working either on clan business or trying to think up a way to return her son to the clan, it should have been expected.

And, in a way, it had been. What was unexpected, however, was that her daughter ended up having good relations with the Yamanaka heiress. When she first returned to the village with her she'd have been pleased to hear the two young Kunoichi were getting along, but after learning the part they had played in her son leaving her clan- leaving the family- she couldn't help but hate them.

Things had only gotten worse when she learned that Naruto no longer held anything against the clan and was even on decent terms with them. Well, not really 'decent', they were terrified of him- as they should be- but they weren't about to upset him and he had managed to use them to his own devices.

Most importantly- he wasn't angry at them, hell, he had mentioned that he should probably thank them for what they allowed him to do and become. And while she could appreciate that he had grown up into a fine young man that she could be proud of he had also grown away from the family to the point where not only did he not want anything to do with them but he had actually gone about and replaced them!

He had a new family, the mention of which had all the Yamanaka at the table tensing all those nights ago, a family that could only be the Wolves the young heiress had mentioned before her clan became a vassal to her own.

Criminals, her baby boy had fallen in with criminals to the point where he would call them family over her, his own mother.

And he seemed happy.

As if losing them hadn't mattered in the slightest.

Nothing had hurt more than that.

To know her son thought nothing of his blood relations, nothing of her, and had simply moved on to the next group. It was horrible, she knew, to hope that he had been devastated by their disappearance, but that would have been expected- at this point welcome, even- but this simple apathy, the professionalism with which he had addressed her when she finally managed to find him again, she didn't know how to deal with it.

It was tearing her apart.

Plans were made and executed as soon as she could, all in a vain hope of regaining what was lost, but none of them worked, none of them got her any closer to her goal of a complete family.

And now she was losing her daughter. She wasn't so caught up in her tasks that she didn't notice the ever-growing distance between herself and young Kunoichi she had spent the past four years training.

She hated to admit it- but that hurt even more.

Her son was already gone and a part of her- the Kunoichi portion- acknowledged that and told her to move on but her daughter she still had. With every attempt to regain her son she spent less time with her, slowly fracturing what family she had left. It wouldn't be long now before she had lost them both and was left alone in this world-

Just as Naruto had been.

It was a mixture of guilt, love, and maternal instinct that made it impossible for her to simply abandon the idea of getting her son back but at this point losing her daughter would be much, much worse.

And that thought, like all thoughts involving her family, brought with it pain.

Despite her intentions she had abandoned her son to fend for himself for four years. There were worse places she could have left him, certainly, Konoha was rather friendly compared to the other villages, but that didn't make things any better. She, the clan head of the Uzumaki, had abandoned her family. Were there any other adults in the clan she would have been expected to surrender her headship to them and exile herself from the clan.

Just like her son had done.

He had taken it upon himself to leave the clan when he had feud with a fellow Konoha clan. It was exemplary, really, for any clan member- any clan member who wasn't Uzumaki. Other clans might approve, might even hail him a hero, especially because he managed to come out victorious in the end without dragging in the clan. The Uzumaki, however, never abandoned each other.

If one had an issue they all had an issue and they would fight to the end to see things through. Had Naruto wished to declare himself and by association the entire Uzumaki clan the enemy of the Yamanaka the clan would have proudly stood behind him.

But there was no clan, it was just him. She had already taken her daughter from the village on a four year training trip. And because it was just him, he had cut himself free from their name and taken the fight entirely upon his young shoulders.

As an Uzumaki she hated it.

As a Kunoichi she approved.

As a mother she was ashamed.

In the end, she knew, no matter how much she tried to shift the blame to others, that this was all her fault. Every last single thing that had happened was her fault and her fault alone. Even as she denied it the truth was always there in the back of her head, whispering to her as it became harder and harder to keep going. She wanted so much to simply give up, curling into a ball and ignoring the world.

But she couldn't, she made this mess and she was responsible to fix it, no matter what it took or how long she had to work at it.

And the more she worked at it, the more she threw her everything into it in a desperate hope that she might undo what was done, her daughter suffered.

She suffered.

Just as Naruto had suffered.

It all came back to him, didn't it? A few times she had been tempted to blame him for this mess but he was only the source of the pain, not the cause. It had been actions outside his control that had caused all these problems and while she could blame clans like the Yamanaka or the Senju for her trouble she couldn't bring herself to really hold her son accountable for their troubles.

He, if anyone, was the victim in this situation. Not her, not her daughter, and certainly not those that had gone against him. He had been the victim- but no longer. He had risen above that and created a life for himself away from it all. She was proud of him for that, but was it really her place to be proud? The only influence she had on the young man- the Shinobi- he had become was her absence and that was hardly something to be proud of.

Naruto was lost, as lost as could be, and with every passing day her daughter slipped further and further away. The last remnants of the Uzumaki clan, the greatest clan to ever exist, was falling apart, crumbling to nothing after all these years, and somewhere, deep down in the darkest pits of her heart, a place that she refused to acknowledge, she knew-

Knew that it was her fault.

And her children were paying the price.

Should she be given the chance, she wouldn't hesitate to go back to when they were a complete family and knowing what she did now, she would never have left her son's side. They would have all been together then, together and happy.

But it was too late for that, she couldn't undo her mistakes.

Neither could she accept them, accept the terrible knowledge that it was because of her that her children now suffered, that she actually found herself wondering if she should abandon one to keep the other. Was she really worthy of having either if she had to make such a decision?

In the end, the only thing she could do was keep trying in hopes that one day she might make things right.

That one day they might be a family once more.

But deep within her heart, in the same place occupied by the knowledge that this was all her fault resided the truth she wasn't strong enough to know lest she be completely broken-

Her family was already lost.

And there was nothing she could do.

* * *

The ocean air had grown on him over the last two weeks, as had the port town itself. Perhaps it was the simplicity of people's lives here, or the cheerfulness of the people that stood in such start contrast to the usual overcast village, or maybe it was just because it was his and that simple thought brought with it the same sense of freedom the villagers formerly tormented by Gato's rule now felt.

He knew he wasn't the only one who was enjoying the thought of this small village belonging to them, as he was aware the Inuzuka heiress- Hana- had likewise become rather attached to it in the short time she had been there. He could certainly understand it, the sense of responsibility she was no doubt feeling was just as he had first felt upon assuming command over the rejected Root prospects that would later become his Wolves.

Only this, a town that served as the center of a country- a capital, or the closest thing to one Nami no Kuni had- felt like a far larger responsibility than a simple organization- no matter how large it was going- could never hope to compare to.

There was just something about an actual village, a permanent structure that sat out in the light opposed to the shadows he had grown so comfortable in, that felt so much more solid. There was a feeling of responsibility associated with any position of leadership but until he had seen the faces of civilians that now depended on that leadership it had never seemed so real.

His Wolves, despite his desire to look out for them, could take care of themselves and he could always trust them to act as necessary to further the goals of the pack. But civilians, untrained and unknowing of the true nature of their silent protectors, were not so self-sufficient and they looked up to those in leadership positions to help guide them through their simple lives.

Unlike the Hyuuga clan in which the sheep flocked to a shepherd, this was a group of individuals who simply needed reassurance and a feeling of safety as they went about their lives as best they can. And while he- Tsukiyomi, as they knew him- could not provide such, Hana had risen spectacularly to the challenge.

The people of Wave adored her.

They didn't necessarily dislike the Wolves, though they were cautious, but having a face to associate with the leadership of the village did wonders for the people's morale. Considering how high morale had shot after Gato's death and when Gato's wealth was used to bring Wave back to what it once was and towards what it could become, Naruto was actually a bit surprised the people hadn't pulled a Hyuuga and proclaimed the Inuzuka heiress a goddess.

Though he supposed that was a good thing. He couldn't even imagine how much trouble it would be leading a group with two cults and two different goddesses. That would be an absolute administrative nightmare.

Purple eyes roamed his surroundings from beneath the black hood of his traveling cloak. In the distance he could see the villagers going about their daily lives will little more concern than what they would have for dinner that night or their ability to impress their love interest. It was a refreshing change both from the depressed Wave he had been informed about and the exuberant celebrations that had been ongoing when he first arrived.

No, this simple cheerfulness suited the port town much better. A town of sailors and fishermen was less than ideal for large, village-wide celebrations in which the alcohol flowed freely from Gato's stores. That had been a pretty bad call on behalf of his Wolves, actually, something he wasn't keen to repeat but the village had needed it and it did them good in the end.

Turning from the distant streets of Nami no Kuni's only official settlement his gaze briefly locked onto the nearby carriage that would take him on his journey to be recognized as the ruler of Wave. It was simple- tediously so. Extreme care had been taken to ensure the carriage looked as plain as possible. Kept in good repair, the only thing that stood out about it was how average it was. And while the regular citizen might not make note of that fact the lords and families that inhabited the capital cities would note that the carriage was kept immaculate with meticulous care.

He did not need something gaudy to show his power, nothing shiny to attract attention. The dark grey carriage elevated him above the common rabble but showed he had better things to do than spend his money needlessly. He was not there to socialize with lesser lords or enter pissing competitions between the heirs of prestigious families. No, he was going to be there to speak with the Daimyou, to conduct business most of them would never be able to dream of.

His carriage, intimidating in its simple perfection and marked only with the head of a wolf in a lighter grey, showed a grim seriousness that would never be matched by the rich nobles who had lived luxurious lives on the deeds of ancestors long past. They didn't have what it took to stand across from the Daimyo as a potential ally instead of next to him as just another waste of space hoping for his favor.

He was above them in ways they couldn't comprehend.

And while they no doubt competed to outdo one another regularly his carriage would immediately tell them that he had no desire to join their pathetic frivolities. He would not be joining their games because he was already playing one far more advanced than they could ever boast.

Yes, this carriage would suit his needs perfectly.

That was to say nothing of the countless explosive tags hidden within it, ready to cause mass panic and chaos should they need to make an escape. And who knows? Maybe he'd end up using it to threaten the Daimyo should things go wrong, he might even end up removing him entirely.

Briefly he toyed with the idea of replacing the man and his family with henged Wolves and removing any member of the staff that became suspicious. No. That was going a bit too far.

At the moment, at least.

He'd keep that option in mind should something go terribly wrong or save it for later when he wasn't dealing with so much. Pulling the strings of a man masquerading as a Greater Daimyo who was involved as your ally and supported your own position of Daimyo was a bit too complicated for his liking at the moment.

Managing the Hyuuga who followed Hinata was enough trouble when he had to remain unknown and Hinata wasn't a natural leader. Luckily he didn't need to do much on that end at the moment or he wouldn't have been able to so easily divested time to sort out things here in Wave and then go off to negotiate with one of the world's rulers.

For truly, the Greater Daimyo were the ones who held the greatest power in this world, greater hidden villages at their call and armies of Samurai ready to die at their command. And with the financial might they held they could even hire entire lesser countries to take up fights for them, never having to resort to the deaths of its own people.

It was almost frightening how much power those simple men held at their fingertips, ready to be unleashed upon the world. If even one of them was ambitious enough the entire world would be engulfed by the fires of war within a week. That kind of power shouldn't be in the hands of those who had never really fought, never truly struggled.

Unsurprisingly, the thoughts of their power only tempted him further to take it from them. Perhaps after he had secured backing he could target one of the other Greater Daimyo and take control of their country using a replacement. He'd probably keep that a secret from his backer, though. Such knowledge certainly wouldn't endear him to the man.

Smaller countries, on the other hand, would probably be appreciated by the lord of lords and even if he kept it a secret from the world there was simply too much favor to be gained to keep his backer out of the loop.

Alas, those were thoughts and plans for another time. He had to start at the beginning and then make plans for their growth. There was still no way to tell how the world might respond once the Wolves came into the open. Old employers might be pleased to be able to easily contact them again while others might fear their past involvement with the group coming to light and shining poorly upon them.

After he'd dealt with that he could go about scheming for what was starting to sound like a bid to take over the world. He had nothing against the idea himself despite it not being his goal- though it certainly wouldn't hurt- and if nothing else the thoughts of such could be toyed with for his amusement during the coming journey.

Using a carriage, unfortunately, meant he would be traveling at a rather civilian pace.

This was going to be a long two weeks.

From the carriage his eyes moved to the few that surrounded him. Unlike the departure of team seven his would not be marked by a large, cheerful crowd. He was a name, a faceless ruler, the people had no love for him.

Hana was their leader and he the man who stood behind her in the shadows, his support evident but unnoticed by the populace for anything more than that. The Wolves were recognized as their protectors and were reluctantly accepted after their experience with Gato and his goons. Those who supported the Wolves, grateful for aid rendered when they worked for Gato, were few and far between.

It was Hana who the Wolves seemed to work for or, at the very least, with. Should Hana have been the one leaving he had no doubt that even after only a week of staying here and getting to know the people, introduced as she was as their leader, they would gather together to wish her safe travels.

That was her purpose, after all, the figurehead they could all look up to in adoration. His organization might be stepping into the light but he would not be with it. His place was within the shadows, stalking around in the background and ensuring no one had to see what was necessary for their light to exist.

He had to admit, it saddened him slightly, but that was the cost of his actions and he would gladly pay for the good of his Wolves. The shadows were where he belonged and they were where he would dwell for the rest of his life.

These figureheads, he knew, would one day replace him completely in the eyes of those he led. Already he puzzled ways for Sai to be able to apply seals identical to the one he bore upon new recruits which meant he would only be seen by those Wolves when they were assigned a task that involved him, unlikely considering their junior status.

No, they would hear solely of him from the lips of the older Wolves, instructed that tasks were his will, the will of a man they had never met and never would. In time the talk would disappear save for the occasional whispering of his name as though a prayer to some lost god they had once followed.

Only the upper echelons of his forces would know better, but how long would that last? How long until only Sai knew of his presence in the background, watching over the Wolves and directing them towards an uncertain future?

When would it be Mai whom all believed to run this vast group? When the Flock and their goddess sought direction from her, when the Wolves followed at her heels, and when the Inuzuka, allied with them, could only vaguely recall the man who had started this all? Tsume would recognize the name but would perhaps dismiss it, having never met him and believing instead that the young woman she had met was and always had been the true leader hiding herself amongst the ranks. Hana, on the other hand, had met him, however briefly as he expressed his confidence in her abilities and the future of Wave, and would perhaps remember the hooded individual who had given her the position.

Hinata would know of him, of course, he doubted that she could ever forget, but what would that matter when she was the goddess of the Hyuuga? Her people wouldn't know of him and as she became more and more confident in her position she would stop relying on him to the point where she'd only need to report to Mai.

Already he had a basic idea for how to go about giving Sai the ability to add the seal, how much longer would it be until he faded into obscurity, forgotten by those he had brought together? While they all moved into the light and went about with their lives in the open, unrestricted by secrecy or the threat of being unready for potential enemies he would be forever trapped in the shadows and remain there until his dying day.

He had to wonder if this was anything like Danzou's own life, starting strong, fading away, and at the very end reduced to little more than an advisor. The old Warhawk would offer advice to the Kage, would he be nothing more than another opinion for Mai to consider as she ran the empire he built?

He would need to start giving Mai more power, in that case, get her ready to lead completely as he disappeared however slowly into the background never to be seen again. It was his fate, it seemed, to lose all which he had. In this case, however, that which he lost would not necessarily be gone. He would still be able to gaze upon it fondly as it grew beyond what he could have ever envisioned, expanding and changing to fit the world he had brought it into.

It was better, he supposed, than to lose it completely. His pride, at the very least, would go on unharmed, forever assured by the continued success of what he had created. It occurred to him that his pride, one of the biggest weaknesses he had, was really the only thing he could trust to stick with him until the bitter end.

His Wolves would continue to expand and conquer, supported by the flock and the dogs of Konoha and with the backing of a Daimyo. It would continue on forever-

Without him.

But the pride of its creation would remain with him through his end, every victory it achieved another for himself. It would turn him bitter, of that he had no doubt, but at least his Wolves would be well cared for.

And in the end, isn't that all that mattered?

He temporarily shook the idea from his mind. He would have two weeks to ponder this, there was little point doing so now as he stood near the carriage that would take him to one of the five greater capitals.

Ten Wolves would be accompanying him on this journey - two driving the carriage, two on the back of the carriage, and three flanking it on either side. They stood apart from the others, their belongings stored within scrolls on their person and ready to serve their lord with all they had.

The other group was even smaller. Hana and Sai stood next to each other, flanked by two Wolves each.

And that was it.

The unofficial lord of Nami no Kuni would not leave to a crowd in any sense of the word and nor would he ever return to one. As far as the people- his people- were concerned they were led by Inuzuka Hana and all that went right would be forever attributed to her and the Wolves she worked with. He was nothing to these people- to this land- but it was his and he would ensure it was taken care of.

There was no cheering as he climbed into the carriage, no waving of crowds or the well-wishing of villagers. No, not a word was spoken as he disappeared into the wooden carriage and shut the door behind him, his entourage of Wolves taking up positions on and around it.

Looking out the window the world began to slowly crawl by as his journey and the first step to his disappearance was taken.

The Wolves would become legendary under his guidance, a part of history so great it would never be forgotten, but he wasn't a Wolf, and he would be forgotten soon enough.

But that was okay.

The Wolves would continue on long after he was gone and through it, through his child, he would live forever.

Because even if he was completely forgotten, he would always be the one who started it all.

He would always be the father of the Wolves.

* * *

The mood seemed inappropriately somber in her opinion, as if he was going forth to the executioner's block rather than on his way to be recognized as a lord by one of the five Greater Daimyo. There wouldn't be any cheers, the Wolves were too professional for that, but the silence didn't seem right either.

And then there was the lack of- well, everyone. Not a single villager was present despite what the man across from her had done for them all. Hell, just her presence usually meant some villagers would be around but the gathering of Wolves was evidently enough to keep them from investigating the strange occurrence.

She scowled lightly at the though. It wasn't right that the people of Nami no Kuni praised her for what he had done and would trust her more than the very group that had secured their freedom.

But not once had she heard any of the Wolves complaining, they seemed to accept it and carry on regardless. That, or perhaps they simply didn't care, concerned only with the will of their leader. And their leader he was. The Inuzuka clan was known for its loyalty but theirs palled in comparison to the Loyalty the Wolves had to Tsukiyomi.

Inuzuka would support each other through anything, the Wolves would go through anything for Tsukiyomi.

Normally she'd say that's a bad thing but despite what other might have done in his place Tsukiyomi didn't seem to have any intention of taking advantage of such. In fact, he seemed more concerned with the needs of his army than he was with his own needs.

It was certainly commendable, especially for one so young, but something still felt so off about the whole situation.

The look in his eyes for one thing seemed so out of place on the face of a man going to meet with a Daimyo about the future of his country. Instead of excitement, a cool calm, or even the panic that she would expect the average person to feel he simply seemed lost in thought, but there was a sense of resignation around him she simply couldn't figure out.

This was a good thing, no?

Why did she feel like he was about to seal his fate?

It was an uncomfortable feeling, to say the least, and she wasn't in the least bit fond of it.

In the week she had been here Tsukiyomi had proven himself a capable leader loved by his followers. No, that wasn't quite the right word to describe his Wolves, they weren't followers, they were a pack, his pack.

And his pack, his family, looked up to him as she had always looked up to her mother.

He wasn't just their alpha, he was their parent, their father. Regardless of age each of them looked up to him for guidance and acceptance. Even she, having only been here for a mere week was starting to see him as the father she had only briefly known before.

But parents made sacrifices for their children sometimes, didn't' they? Was that why he seemed so resigned to a fate she couldn't begin to guess? What plans did he have, what had he manage to keep from even his faithful followers?

She only hoped that whatever it was it didn't affect him too badly. His pack would be devastated should he be lost and she doubted it would be able to continue without him. They had no reason to protect Wave, no reason to ally with her clan beyond Tsukiyomi's will. If something happened she would lose Wave, her clan would lose the greatest ally they had ever had, Nami no Kuni would lose its liberators and protectors, and the Wolves would lose their purpose.

Everything would fall apart without him.

And he knew that, right?

There was no way he would continue with something if it threatened the pack he had so tirelessly worked to give a place in this world.

And yet she couldn't shake the sight of his eyes from her mind even as he entered into his carriage and started towards the capital.

Something was troubling him deeply, something she probably couldn't hope to fully understand, but whatever it was he had accepted it, for good or ill.

They would just have to trust him and his judgement, for this was his pack and now she was involved with it. As soon as the Inuzuka had joined with the Wolves their packs had become one in the same in the eyes of the heiress.

Her mother was the Alpha.

Tsukiyomi was the Alpha.

Mai, that odd young woman, was somewhere between the two, not quite their equal but also not quite below them to the level that she and Sai were. Together they were the head of this new pack; mother, father, heiress, commander, and the strange girl who seemed to have somehow caught the eye of both parents.

Together they were a family.

Together they were a pack.

Together they were strong.

But without Tsukiyomi, they would all fall apart.

She hoped that whatever it was that bothered him would be resolved soon and leave him at peace.

They needed him, she needed him.

The young heiress that had never before found herself wanting a father had ended up finding one after having only known the man for a week and for the first time in years her family felt complete.

She wasn't about to lose him now.

Not after having just found him.

He was the father of the Wolves, her father- perhaps even for real one day in the future- and she'd be damned if he went through whatever it was that bothered him so alone when she was here and able to support him.

And support him she would, with everything she had.

The father of the Wolves deserved no less.

* * *

 **See you all next week.**


	33. Beyond the Forest

**It would seem that this chapter is terribly late in it's posting and I'm reminded once again that sending things to ncpfan at the last minute is rather foolhardy and inconsiderate. Luckily he managed to make time to look over the latest chapter.**

 **The good news, in that case, is that you don't have to wait as long for the next chapter.**

 **Well, so long as I get into the habit of writing chapters earlier in the week, of course. The next chapter is probably going to be just as last-minute as all the others.**

 **So, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help with the chapter and my apologies go out to all those disappointed by the previous lack of update- A good lot of you seem to come off as being rather addicted to the story in your reviews.**

 **On the note of the chapter, however, I must warn you that you'll likely be rather disappointed. While it is focuses on Naruto [In fact, the entire chapter is Naruto] it doesn't really do much. I'd say it does nothing, but worldbuilding is something. I hadn't intended for the chapter to turn out this way but what started as an introduction to a chapter that would clear up Naruto's thoughts and cover his meeting with the Daimyo became, well, this.**

 **Hopefully you do not find it too dreadfully boring and though I find it unfortunate the chapter turned out this way it did allow me to address the Shinobi world at large which gets it out of the way. I have no doubt that a lot of the chapter will seem rather ramble-like but that is to be expected because it is, after all, someone's thoughts.**

 **On a final note to all readers, please do not accept at face value any of the thoughts characters might have throughout the story. I've noticed a lot of people just going with whatever is expressed and while I am trying to work my style to employ less subtleties I do try to tailor thoughts, actions, and conjecture to each individual character. Every person in the story has led different lives, sees the world in a different way, and does not share the advantage of viewing the entire story as we do.**

 **All that said, raise the curtains!**

* * *

Another bump in the road rocked the transport but it wasn't anything its lone occupant hadn't grown accustomed to. At first they had found it to be a rather odd feeling, being thrown about constantly on the ruined roads of a suspiciously poor country but as time passed and the roads increased in both quality and wear they had come quite used to the odd feeling of weightlessness that so often accompanied the bumps that grew to be less and less frequent.

Of course, this did not stop the various bumps from constantly interrupting his thoughts and trying to anticipate the next did more harm than good, for it was impossible for him to predict the road and all its many small imperfections when he had never before laid eyes on it. And, while it may have been tempting to draw away the blinds of the carriage's single window and simply watch the world roll by it was ill advised.

The less people could see of him the better chance he had of getting to his destination alive.

Not that he knew of anyone specific currently out for his life, but it was always better to be safe, something his guards understood quite clearly. It's why they had begged him to refrain, after all.

As much as he'd like to ignore them for the sake of ending the sheer boredom that plagued him, he knew they were right and if keeping himself in the shadows helped ease their worries even a fraction he would gladly never again see the light of day.

Heh, the shadows.

It was almost funny how often his thoughts drifted along this exact path.

Then again, perhaps not.

The Wolves were his pride and joy, a family that he had made for himself that would never turn on him. He loved his pack, wanted nothing but the best for them, but in order to do that he had to split his focus- dangerously so.

The Wolves were pretty self-sufficient even now, any distraction on his part would have a negligible effect on their wellbeing, something he was certain Sai would be able to more than make up for, or, something he would have been, had the Wolves been as stable as he'd like.

It wasn't like they were in danger of falling part but rather quite the opposite, they were still growing and rapidly at that. One might even beg the thought that they were growing too fast for their own good and while he wasn't completely sure of the truth of that statement, he was sure that it was growing too fast for him.

Despite having left most of it in the hands of Mai and Sai in preparation of his Shinobi career with Konohagakure no Sato he was still heavily involved then and with his career taking such a drastic setback- though perhaps also an incredible boon, if not for him than for the Wolves but likely for them both- he had only been able to throw himself further into the welfare of his pack.

Now, however, he received mostly vague reports and the occasional detail that needed his final say. Even being in the country he had just taken over he received little more than status reports while the inside workings were taken care of by Sai and a slowly growing administrative staff, half of which would probably find themselves reassigned to help him- though mostly Inuzuka Hana- as Nami no Kuni was governed.

There was simply too much for one person to ever hope to handle alone and only a fool would attempt it.

A fool- or Danzou.

Of course, Danzou had several advantages that he himself did not have the luxury of. For one, Danzou, despite operating globally, operated at a much small scale. It was testament to the man's skill that he could do as much as he did with such a small organization. Well, small wasn't the best was to describe Root, but it certainly wasn't very large. For lack of a better description it was a decent size, in fact, one might say it was the perfect size for Danzou's uses.

That wasn't to say Danzou wouldn't have liked to have many more operatives but the way he went about it- the fact that he had to have things a certain way and wouldn't accept them otherwise- meant he lost out on a lot of potential operatives. He was actually quite pleased about that, for if Danzou didn't require all of his forces to be perfectly conditioned- something that failed more often than not, as not everybody was able to be conditioned or could function afterwards- he wouldn't have his own little army.

For that alone he should really send the man a gift, maybe a nice bottle of wine.

On second thought, the man might be a bit too paranoid for something like that, which would just be a waste of good wine. Maybe something like a pen- no, too easy to hide explosive notes in, the man wouldn't risk it without thorough examination and even then would probably discard it.

He might not have any enemies but Danzou no doubt did.

He'd have to put that idea on the backburner, Danzou was not the kind of person who would be easy to shop for. Randomly browsing markets had a better chance of producing something than him thinking ever would, for the more he thought about thinks the easier it was to find ways that the gift might be harmful.

If he didn't stop soon he'd find himself as paranoid as the old hawk. Not that paranoia was a bad thing, especially in this profession, but he really didn't feel like being as paranoid as the leader of Root, at least not this early in his life. While many could argue that paranoia would allow him to live to an age he deemed it appropriate to be paranoid he would much rather enjoy those years, thank you very much.

Now, where was he? Ah, yes.

Back to Danzou's advantages. Besides having fewer people than he did, each operation was, naturally, smaller. He couldn't risk his operatives and he was unable to send backup if something went wrong in most cases. To that end things needed to be simple and straightforward lest he risk a major complication laying ruin to all his plans.

Because Danzou really didn't do small plans, it was just a matter of many small, short-term missions that could easily be adjusted to account for unseen developments in the long run. It was that method the man owed most of his success to and he doubted the retired veteran would be changing such an effective system anytime soon.

On that note was another big advantage, Danzou's retired state. While he still served as an advisor (though unofficial) and had a seat on the council (For what he didn't actually know. Maybe it was a clan seat but it was more likely for some other reason, perhaps granted for his services, his experiences, or even by the imperial fire court for some reason he wasn't privy to.) Danzou still had a lot of time on his hands to spare for the meticulous micromanaging and mission analysis he did to ensure his organization continued to run smoothly.

And while the work may have been tedious it worked wonders for the efficiency of Root and allowed him insight to his ongoing operations that not many other leaders could hope to claim.

It was rather impressive, actually.

Not something he was all that interested in himself, but still impressive.

No, while he'd like to be more involved- in fact, he really would have preferred working alongside his Wolves in the field- he didn't need to be _that_ involved. A nice middle ground was preferable.

Unfortunately, he had more to worry about than Danzou did, too, namely the two additional groups that he was trying to move about to his advantage.

The Hyuuga at the moment were unaware of his influence but they were also something he had to be very careful dealing with. His inaction was both because he didn't need to use them at the moment and because he had to be so damn careful about even the slightest way he and his Wolves might interact with them.

Unless he was the object of it, he was never dealing with another cult again.

Ever.

The loyalty and devotion was good, but it was just too much damn trouble to be worth it. Had Hinata not been leading them- and had he not been the one who indirectly put her there- he wouldn't have touched it.

Or, rather, he would have touched it being inexperienced as he was and then promptly washed his hands of the matter.

Figureheads like Sai worked fine, especially because the Wolves already knew who was really in charge, but cult leaders were a bit much. That was to say nothing about the situation his little goddess was currently in. The cult without the clan or the clan without the cult would have been enough trouble but no, they couldn't stay separated, could they? Of course not, he had to deal with both of them being so backwardly intertwined that one wrong move could very well spark the fourth Shinobi world war.

That, admittedly, was a bit out there, but if ever confronted about it he would likely claim to be channeling his inner Danzou. Had one been to Kumokagure no Sato one would probably say both of them channeled an inner Omoi – though thankfully neither took it quite as far as that young swordsman often did.

Something that would make those who knew said swordsman both very grateful and not a small bit jealous.

Fortunately, it was unlikely that the groups, separated as they were, would ever cross paths. At a personal level, at least. There was still plenty of animosity between the two villages existing in an uneasy peace and while they could possibly cross paths the chances of them even speaking to one another in any way other than taunts, insults, and perhaps a few threat was astronomically low.

If Omoi's teammate Samui was present that list would undoubtedly grow to include flirting, innuendo, and rather crass sexual comments about her breast size.

If their friend Yugito was there one could expect a lot of double entendre.

In either case, it was almost guaranteed to be quickly followed by screams of pain and pitiful male whimpering-

And perhaps the end of a few bloodlines.

So, inner Omoi aside, if he wasn't careful when dealing with the cult and the clan from which it spawned he could very well bring about war on a global scale, likely within as little as a few weeks.

With the problems between the main and branch families that had existed for as long as anyone could remember and the clan's current status as the largest and most powerful (Manpower wise, at least, as the Senju and Uzumaki still trumped them in political standing despite the current state of the two once great clans) meant that were a civil war to break out it would leave Konoha vulnerable.

If that wasn't enough alone to entice old foes to strike at the village that had oh so recently lost the famed Uchiha clan the fact that any conflict within the Hyuuga clan would prompt the village to attempt to interfere. And, while they might succeed in stopping the branch family- or perhaps take the chance to remove the main family so as to hold greater control over the clan- it was just as likely that Konoha itself would be dragged into civil war.

He winced slightly at the thought. Though he had avoided it, his earlier actions against the Yamanaka almost sparked a civil war and had the chance to do so again when Kushina had used his self-exile as reason to go against the clan of Mindwalkers. Had some of the clans stood against her he had no doubt that things would have quickly turned to violence. It wouldn't have mattered in the end and he wouldn't be trying to avoid it now- the fourth Shinobi war would have already been sparked.

They might have been fighting in it right now, in fact, but more likely it would already be over and the victors would simply be fighting amongst themselves for the biggest scraps of what had once been the first hidden village.

He loved Konoha, it was his home, but he wasn't so blind as to see how weak they were becoming. Standards were slipping, the number of people joining the Shinobi forces was declining (likely the reason standards were slipping), people were becoming fat, lazy, and complacent, and, while he was an incredible leader and Shinobi, Sarutobi Hiruzen was far past his prime and it showed.

Painfully so.

He still respected the man for what he had done and what he went through, but the man shouldn't be leading them right now, peace time or not.

Iwa was always looking to rip out their throats with shinobi known for stubbornness almost on par with the nearly extinct Uzumaki clan and the drive to keep going regardless of the conditions. Even when the Yondaime Hokage was cutting through them like a hurricane through ricepaper they refused to stop and charged until the last man fell.

It was, brave, incredibly stupid, but, most of all, dangerous. Very dangerous. One had to respect an enemy who wouldn't falter even in impossible odds, who would throw away their life for the sake of their country and for the smallest chance of cutting down their foe.

It wasn't very Ninja-like but there weren't that many these days that were. They were warriors, like most modern Shinobi, but were more akin to bandits than Samurai. No, that was a bad comparison, they had the energy and wildness of bandits, but they were more dangerous than that and comparing them to such common trash was an insult to their skill and tenacity.

Iwa and its children were like barbarians, tribes of warriors who just kept going, caring not for their own wounds so long as their foes sated the thirst of the earth upon which they fell and their rotting corpses fed the murder of crows that watched battlefields with the glassy eyes of death.

Iwa was not an enemy to make light of, even after all these years and all the treaties that had been set in place to avoid further conflict on the scale of the previous Shinobi world wars. There was no doubt that those same treaties were only cared about in Iwa if one of their foes stopped following it, something that did nothing that provided them with a chance to be less secretive and go further with what they were already doing without fear of the finger being pointed their way.

Iwa kept their weapons sharp, even in times of peace, and they were always itching to reclaim pride for the sake of their own warriors lost on the field of battle against Namikaze Minato.

Not that he could really blame them.

Kumo was, in ways, similar to Iwa. Like those hidden in the stones, they were always ready for war. Unlike them, they could succeed. Iwa would send generation after generation at the gate of their foes and manage only to paint the land around the village red. Every generation would be fiercer, more ferocious, and more willing to lay down their lives for the chance to avenge their fallen fathers.

Eventually the gate would break and they would tear through the enemy village like a horde of ravenous beasts.

Kumo would march up to a gate.

There would not be a gate standing for them to leave through.

Thoughts of Iwa brought the word 'savagery' to mind, but Kumo was undoubtedly professional. Unlike the vast armies of Iwa theirs was smaller, but each Shinobi was trained to a level far above their Iwa counterparts.

Kumo was a military, and it lived for war.

It didn't care if it was fighting for one, preparing for one, or recovering from one. Kumo was war, it ate, breathed, and slept war and when the trumpets sounded they were the first hounds to bound from the gate of their village and tear through their foes.

There was a sense of precision with Kumo, the idea that no movement was wasted, and it was only to be expected from a village that favored the sword almost as much as the infamous bloody mist.

Iwa would keep trying until they succeeded, Kumo wouldn't try until victory was assured.

Between the two it was difficult to determine the greatest threat for both were dangerous foes to face on the field of battle.

Of course, should they be facing one it was inevitable that the other would soon join in. It was not surprising, long had Konoha been considered the greatest even when the other two possessed far more might than Konoha couldn't currently hope to scrape together. The chance to topple the first hidden village and establish themselves atop the new food chain was not one easily passed up and the knowledge that were one of the other villages to gain the majority of Konoha then it was likely they would be able to conquer the others.

For what Konoha lacked in manpower it had a surplus of resources, always had, and that was a fact never lost on the other villages. Hashirama had chosen the location of Konoha wisely and the village had benefited from it ever since. The other villages, while defendable, were too out of the way and had such tight security that they couldn't benefit from trade, leaving them to rely solely upon what they could produce themselves.

Those same defensible positions meant it wasn't much.

Only Kirigakure avoided such an unfortunate situation by having easy access to the ocean allowing for limited shipping and plentiful seafood. In fact, his new country had once traded quite a bit with Kirigakure but ever since the bloodline purges had started the village had closed itself off from the world. It was likely the reason Nami no Kuni was in a bad enough situation for Gato to take over, the loss of such a source of trade would have wreaked havoc upon their economy.

Speaking of Kiri, Konoha was rather lucky that they were too busy with their own problems to try anything though there still remained the constant threat that Kiri's troubles might spread past the borders of Mizu no Kuni and drag the rest of the world into their mess.

It was, perhaps, the reason other conflict had been avoided. Kiri was closer to both Iwa and Kumo than Konoha- something often used by those villages to justify having forces that far exceeded what the treaties allowed- and neither wanted to be caught fighting a war on two fronts.

Then again, the tension Kiri's issues caused alone might spark a war, a war that could very well end before Kiri opened again to the world around it. That would certainly be interesting, he could only imagine the confusion one would feel learning they had somehow missed a shinobi world war.

Kirigakure was well known for its insatiable thirst for blood. They didn't care if they were slaughtering outsiders or their neighbors, they just wanted to spill blood. Somewhere between Iwa's savagery and Kumo's military precision, had Kiri not been closed off to the world fighting itself they would undoubtedly be the biggest threat for any of the villages to face.

Should all three of those countries join forces there was no doubt Konoha would be utterly annihilated and their sole ally, Suna, wouldn't be any help. In a terrible financial situation and with limited manpower because there weren't enough missions for the path of the Shinobi to be a widely viable career Suna was barely considered a greater village.

Only the sheer size of Kaze no Kuni and the wealth amassed by their daimyo from the various desert mines granted them such status.

Considering how their Daimyo had a tendency to go to Konoha for his needs, where Shinobi could be better trained and a surplus of jobs meant cheaper rates, Suna was just as likely to go against them as offer any aid.

On that note, he wasn't really sure why they still had an alliance. Unless it was a precaution brought about solely by proximity he really couldn't see how Konoha benefited from it. They already had a tense peace with the rest of the world and Suna certainly wasn't friendly, their Shinobi being rather hostile for supposed allies- not that they could be blamed with their current situation.- so unless Konoha was planning on offering aid- which really should have been done long ago to promote stronger bonds and give them a reliable ally- he really didn't see the point.

Then again, it wasn't his place to, either. He was neither the Hokage nor the advisors he trusted with his plans. For whatever reason they were still allied with Suna, good or ill, he would just have to accept it and keep going about his own business.

Business that, naturally, included being ready in case Suna did turn against them. Not much they could do against the village itself- the desert sands provided ample defense- but just having an additional army that could go against them should prove devastating. The fact that by moving northwards he could use his troops to pincer any Suna army between his Wolves and the Shinobi of Konohagakure was just an added benefit of having the majority of them stationed just outside of Hi no Kuni.

Here he is, thinking about all these other villages constantly preparing for war and it's the exact same thing he's currently doing with his new country. The Shinobi world, it would seem, existed only for war.

It wasn't much of a surprise.

But once again he was letting his thoughts get away from him.

The Wolves were growing to be too large for him to take direct, everyday control over them, the cult in the midst of the Hyuuga clan was just one of the delicate situations that could spark another world war, and he had even more on his plate to deal with.

Fortunately the only other group- at this moment, and hopefully for a while yet- was the Inuzuka clan of Konohagakure.

Thank the gods for the Inuzuka.

Unlike the other two groups he was not in control of the Inuzuka and they were one hundred percent self-sufficient. He could not contact them in the next year and they would be just fine because they had been fine before he approached them. They were a clan of Konoha, one with a low but solid position that wasn't about to change without a lot of work-

Or a little help.

That is, of course, where he and the Wolves came in. They provided the Inuzuka with support and in return the Inuzuka would look out for their better interests in Konoha. With the heiress now working alongside the Wolves in a position that allowed her almost complete control of a profitable country and a way to easily support her clan with said profits he didn't have to worry about the Inuzuka turning against him anytime soon.

He did, however, have to keep an eye on the information they sent him and provide responses quickly enough for them to act on. At the moment there wasn't much he needed them to do- and having them benefiting from the partnership was sure to please them- but unlike the Hyuuga where it was dangerous to move he simply had no immediate need of the Inuzuka.

Some of their number were in Nami no Kuni as the heiress prepared to run the country (Publically, of course. He had no doubt he'd need to do most of the work to keep things going smoothly in the background.) and those still in Konoha were already aware of their new partners.

He could probably station some Wolves in their compound fir security or even to train some of their members but he would hold off on that for now.

He certainly wouldn't be averse to having a few Wolves with Ninken, however, or even just regular trained dogs. That would be infinitely beneficial. Actually, the sooner they started that the better, he would have to send word to Mai to see if she couldn't arrange something.

Picking up the notebook that had been left open on the seat next to him he quickly scratched down the idea so he wouldn't forget. Forgetting was unlikely, of course, especially when the thought would probably be running through his head until something else came along to replace it- and there wasn't all that much going on around him to serve as a distraction- but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

It was for that very reason he hadn't brought any of the files from Gato's mansion along to go over during the trip. Three days in he had started to wonder if it wouldn't have been worth the risk in the end.

He really didn't even need to wonder about that- he already knew that such a risk would never be worth it, but at least it would have been something to do. Idly he wondered if there had been any books in Gato's mansion- it was likely- and he cursed himself for not grabbing a few for the road.

While the journey had given him plenty of time to think about his Wolves a distraction really would have been nice.

There were only so many times you could think about the current situation of the various groups you were involved with before you started to worry about what could go wrong. Thinking about what might go wrong was exactly what he should be trying to avoid on his way to visit a Daimyo.

Because even though he didn't show it and his Wolves wouldn't notice he was beyond nervous.

This wasn't a man he could immediately have assassinated or could blackmail. Threats wouldn't work, the legal system wouldn't help against its own ultimate authority, and the Samurai armies of the greater lords were nothing to scoff at.

If he didn't get this right he risked losing Wave when the other villages inevitably sent their own forces to take control. They wouldn't be public about it, of course, probably using a third party to take over and run everything, but the fact was that group would have the support of the village or even rival lord that was after it, something he couldn't claim to have yet.

And while he knew any Daimyo would jump at the chance to benefit from Nami no Kuni in a way that other countries couldn't protest there would always be that lingering doubt. All that they needed for everything to go wrong was one distant relative of the Yamanaka holding sway over the court or one distrustful advisor keeping the Daimyo from committing. Something as simple as the greater lord having a head cold and not wanting to deal with them would be enough to cause a fair bit of trouble for his Wolves.

They could go to another lord, of course, but word spread fast and chances were good that if one lord rejected them the next would out of sheer principle. The lot of them were competitive bastards and if one said the arrangement wasn't good enough for them than no greater lord worth his pride would accept them and be seen as having lower standards than there fellows.

This really was a one-shot kind of chance because otherwise they'd be on their own against everyone who wanted a piece of Nami no Kuni and its superior trade location.

That's not to say they were completely banking on having the support of a greater lord, he had thought of other ways to secure his position just in case something went wrong. It certainly wasn't preferred and would be nowhere as simple but they were still options viable enough to go for should the greater lord have no interest in Nami no Kuni.

The greater lord, however, was, as mentioned earlier, the best option.

There was sure to be more than one country frowning at his backup of hostilely taking control of the lesser countries until the land he controlled rivaled that of the greater lords and he could stand up to them. No, that was definitely something he'd try to avoid-

Unless they managed to get the support of a greater lord like he planned. In that case he could move onto expanding wave with minimal worry and every country would both further secure his benefactor's support and make the other great countries more hesitant to go against them.

A win-win partnership, it was just a matter of convincing the greater lord of such.

Sighing, he leaned back fully against the seat and let his head fall back. He carriage was comfortable enough for small trips but the way it was set up made it rather difficult to sleep through the journey, even if the roads cooperated.

The lord would go for it, he knew the man would. Not stupid but also not very cautious the greater lord was a rather cheerful- if vain- man who would be delighted in the chance of expanding his influence if only to stick it to his peers.

He just needed to relax and everything would work out.

It was easier said than done, however, and the thoughts of possible failure continued to swim through his head prompting countless scenarios he might have to soon face. His own plans he pitted against each one and came out in a position he could work with but that did nothing to put him at ease, what was he missing if he felt everything was covered?

Two weeks of worrying about this meeting and the future of the Wolves- his children- were taking their toll on him. He lost his family once, he wouldn't lose them again. If that meant he had to give them the entire world to keep them safe he would work until the day his body gave to see that they would last until the end of time, a legacy that would see him living forever.

For even if the Wolves far into the future lost his identity he would always exist as the creator and so long as the Wolves were known until the end of time he would never again be forgotten.

If this stress was only a taste of the price he would pay in the end he would happily bear the burden.

But one of Mai's massages would be more than welcome.

* * *

 **Kukuku, didn't have to insert any pagebreaks into this one. See you all next week.**


	34. Three for the Clan

**Nothing I can think of right now to start the chapter so as always thanks goes to ncpfan for his work looking over my chapters and let's get this show started.**

* * *

There were some snakes who enjoyed moist environments.

Yakushi Kabuto was not one of them.

He was incredibly fortunate to be stationed within Hi no Kuni, a country covered in dry woodlands. It was far better than working in a country like that of Rice Paddies, where fields upon fields of rice were grown. There were paths of plenty to avoid them, of course, but that didn't endear the country to him any. No, he preferred things to be nice, dry, and preferably a bit warm.

He was, however, happy to do without the heat and brace the cold so long as it was dry. There was nothing like working on delicate medical experiments and having one's notes become damp halfway through.

Naturally, Orochimaru's bases were always kept dry, though cold, which kept them perfect for what was done within but Kabuto, being a spy, was not all that fond of cramped tunnels. Sure, they gave a sense of security in some cases, but Kabuto had trained to be suited to hiding in plain sight and that could be more dangerous than anything that might threaten one of the many structures in which the hidden sound Shinobi resided.

Open space meant there were no walls, no obstacles, it meant an infinite amount of possible escape routes should something go wrong. And that, unfortunately, meant he liked to spend any of his free time outside their hidden bases.

Places like Mizu no Kuni or Yuki no Kuni were simply far too wet for him to be able to enjoy himself, which would lead to frustration and a higher rate of failures as he set about doing his master's- mistress's?- work.

He could now add Nami no Kuni to that list.

Distastefully his eyes roamed his surroundings, the sounds of footsteps echoing behind him as a small force of Oto Shinobi marched on to the recently acquired country of Orochimaru's godson.

Godson, now _there_ was a surprise. He would never have guessed that Orochimaru was a godparent let alone one who was viewed in good standing by the unfortunate child.

Then again, that child just took over a country. They were likely more suited to each other than he was comfortable with. One Orochimaru even he would admit was not the best for the world but two? Two was a horrifying thought, one that had him tempted to pray to any that might answer in hopes it didn't come to pass.

Having a godson that supported him- her? He tried not to think about it- certainly didn't make him feel good about the situation but it was better than two of them. Orochimaru's brilliance was unmatched, don't get him wrong, but the world could barely handle her- him?- alone.

Kabuto was rather fond of the world.

After all, he lived here.

Hopefully for much, much longer.

Fortunately there were no similarities between the two he was aware of besides having taken control of a country so with any luck this 'Naruto' was simply a loving godson who wanted to help out his godmother.

Kabuto had to wonder if the boy was aware that he currently had a second godmother- Orochimaru had mentioned something about Tsunade at one point when speaking about him- or if this would all come as a shock to him.

Of course, as recently stated, he had taken over a country. So maybe not too shocking.

The thought of his possible reactions, however, at least gave the spy something to distract himself from the awful moisture that surrounded him. As thick white mist swirled upon the road before him and danced in tendrils amongst the trees to either side of him he once again cursed the fact that he had been chosen for this assignment.

He couldn't think of a single reason the job couldn't have been given to one –or all- of the Sound Four or even Guren, who was just about his equal in rank. She really should have been the one here right now, actually. They had roughly the same skill, about the same rank, and the only real difference was that he was supposed to be maintaining his cover over in Konohagakure no Sato right now.

It's not like he had some small position that allowed him to slip away easily, he had risen to be one of the top medics and was the 'son' of the hospital's director. People noticed when he left and it wouldn't be long until suspicions rose.

After all, why did the medic need to leave the country so suddenly? Leaving had proven hard enough considering the constant workload of the understaffed hospital but once he returned the questions would start and he wouldn't have another chance to escape the hospital for many, many more months.

His network was going to suffer for this, he was sure.

He doubted Orochimaru much cared, however, the snake summoner likely cared more for Guren's Crystal release far more than he did for Kabuto's spy network. Considering that the previous plans to invade Konoha had been scrapped out of fear that it could upset Orochimaru's godson he was probably right.

He wouldn't be surprised if the only reason she hadn't had him bring it down was because it could be used to look out for her godson and would give her access to updates of his wellbeing.

The fact that she would care about that was far harder to get his head around than her recent gender change. Or did that imply she became male? His gender change as Orochimaru was now female? Bah, it wasn't important enough for him to worry about.

Just so long as he didn't have to start calling her 'mistress' he would be fine. With all her dungeons and her tendency to torture captives when she was frustrated – sexually and otherwise- the prospect of calling her such was distinctly unpleasant for the most over-qualified lab assistant in the elemental nations.

'Orochimaru-Sama' should do well enough. Thank the gods he could call them that regardless of gender.

Unless she decided to change her name, of course.

The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

As if things weren't weird enough.

Shaking the thought from his head, he redirected his attention to the oncoming bridge and the guards standing before it. He swallowed nervously as the snarling faces of Wolves became more defined and his hand brushed lightly over the letter kept within his top.

Rumor had it that Momochi Zabuza had been employed by the last person to rule Wave and while no one knew for certain what had happened it had always been Kabuto's motto as a spy to be safe rather than sorry.

So what if it was just a large group that had managed to drive Zabuza away with sheer numbers and were no stronger than bandits individually? It was far less risky to be respectful to them than to risk angering a group in which every member was stronger than the A-ranked missing nin.

Had he not been representing Orochimaru and had the woman- gods that was _still_ weird- not explicitly stated that the mission absolutely _could not_ fail lest she be cut off from her godson and take out her displeasure on him personally than he may have considered changing his attitude as soon as he learned the true strength of their...allies.

That was weird too, they actually had allies now. Sure, they'd had alliances before but more often than not it was just so Orochimaru could turn on them or use them in some way to further her own goals.

But to have actual allies that they were expected to cooperate with and in most cases defer to? That was simply unheard of.

Of course, that also made it interesting and Kabuto oh so hated being bored.

A little bit of change was welcome- far more welcome than his current environment.

That was a change he could have gone without.

He was only half aware- dreaming of the lovely weather they had been having back in Konoha- when they arrived at Nami no Kuni's only bridge.

Stopping a respectable distance from the guards he refocused on his surroundings and made sure to keep his hands easily seen as the wolf-faced guards approached his group. He had seen the occasional glimpse of white porcelain through the surrounding trees as they grew nearer, no doubt guards keeping an eye on them, so he wasn't surprised when he saw them step out behind his group from the corner of his eye.

If nothing else, at least this group seemed professional, a nice change from the usual bandits and warlords he had to deal with for Orochimaru on occasion, and as competent as Konoha's ANBU- the only Shinobi within Konoha he felt really deserved to call themselves such.

He had high respect for that group, even if they hadn't found him yet. After all, he had been a sleeper agent and spy from a ridiculously young age. Hell, most didn't even realize he had been found outside Konoha and adopted by a doctor from Konoha.

Orochimaru's brilliance really knew no bounds.

"In the name of Tsukiyomi, identify yourselves!"

Tsukiyomi? Either Orochimaru's godson wasn't at the top or had placed his new country under the command of another. Well, he could have been keeping his identity secret too, which, as a spy, Kabuto had to respect. Actually, thinking about it, if that was indeed the case the two of them might be more similar than he would have previously thought.

Both of them were from Konoha and kept their true natures hidden from all as they went about dealing with the infamous S-ranked traitor Orochimaru of the Sannin. There were few others- if any- who could claim the same.

The kid had him beat though, Kabuto had never gone about taking over a country.

It didn't sound like a bad idea, though, maybe he'd try it one of these days.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto, here at the command of Orochimaru and brining with me Shinobi from Otogakure no Sato to begin the arranging of an…outpost (Hidden base just didn't seem to be the term to use in this situation, he had a feeling they might not appreciate it)… as we were invited to by Orochimaru's godson; Naruto."

"And you have proof of this claim?" Even as he spoke the Wolves seemed to be preparing to pounce. No doubt the use of Naruto's name had them on edge. Should any falsely use his name it was obvious they wouldn't live to regret it.

"Only a letter to Orochimaru-Sama from young-" As growls-actual growls!- emerged from some of the masks at the thought his address might be demeaning to the boy he quickly added to it. "master Naruto, as was delivered by a Child of Aū summoned in his capacity as high-priest to the Golden Serpent."

The one who had been questioning him seemed confused by some of the details provided, evidently not knowing everything about the godson of Orochimaru, but they didn't necessarily seem surprised that he was greater than they had realized. Kabuto was impressed by the obvious devotion- even Orochimaru couldn't inspire loyalty like this out of anyone but the dying Kaguya.

To be fair, though, Orochimaru preferred to rule by fear and it certainly suited her.

"Show me the letter." The Wolf eventually decided, holding out his hand expectantly.

Slowly, almost painfully so, Kabuto slipped one hand into his top and grasped hold of the letter. Orochimaru had only grudgingly surrendered it for this purpose and he knew his life was forfeit should it come to any harm for she treasured it immensely. Her evident obsession was just another strange thing about her he couldn't understand.

Making an obvious show of turning the parchment this way and that to show there wasn't anything hidden on it he slowly moved closer and placed it in the waiting hand before retreating back a step and a half.

The note was short, he had been allowed to read it himself, so it took the man only a second for his eyes to move over it. Despite this, Kabuto could sense the frown that tugged down at lips hidden behind his mask.

"I see." He held out the letter to Kabuto who eagerly-though still very cautiously- retrieved it and returned it to the safety of his top. "While that appears to be by Tsukiyomi's hand I will have to confirm this with the commander in his absence."

Well, that confirmed the name theory. The absence, however, was a bit troubling. Orochimaru was planning on arriving a few days from now to meet her godson- she was going to be terribly disappointed. He'd have to remember to send word of his absence and the name he went by while amongst the Wolves soon in hopes of placating her wrath before she had a chance to take it out on one of her subordinates- namely him.

"Of course. Orochimaru-Sama made it very clear that Wave belongs to the Wolves and we were to defer to you until they arrived."

"Orochimaru is coming here?" There was noticeable discomfort, which was to be expected. There weren't a lot of S-ranked Shinobi and just one was a substantial threat.

"That had been the plan, but you mentioned that Na- Er, Tsukiyomi-Sama was not currently present. Orochimaru-Sama was quite intent on meeting their godchild and with him unavailable I do believe the meeting will be postponed."

"Very well, the Commander will be notified of this so that Tsukiyomi-Sama might be informed. Until then, however, I will have to ask that you remain here so we can sort everything out. I hope that this will not be a problem?" The Wolf obviously didn't care but at least he was following the proper niceties.

That was something, at least.

"Not at all, please, take your time. We'll be here." No, he'd rather they didn't take their time but if one of the Wolves so much as whispered that he had been rude during Orochimaru's inevitable- though soon to be postponed- visit then he wouldn't be shedding skin.

He'd be having it ripped from his flesh.

From the tone of the Wolf the man was amused- no doubt sporting a massive grin- and the rising and falling of some of his companions' shoulders meant he wasn't the only one.

"Oh, don't worry, we plan to."

Kabuto only barely managed to keep himself from releasing a defeated sigh. This was going to be a long day.

' _Damn you and your Bloodline, Guren, I want to be back in Konoha!'_

* * *

"Do you understand your orders?"

Three simultaneous answers of 'Hai' echoed from the darkened room, six eyes staring back at him. This wasn't like him, he was treading on new territory-forbidden territory- and one wrong step could have disastrous consequences.

But it needed to be done, he had to know what the boy was up to.

"Remember, if they discover you their wrath will be upon us, if she discovers what it is I've sent you to do her wrath will be upon us, and if you fail we will not support you. The second you step outside this room to the moment you report back success we will consider you traitors to the clan and should Konoha discover your absence you will be marked and hunted as missing nin."

His daughter had done well befriending the heiress, the news she brought back from her mission would have never reached him otherwise and he would have been oblivious to their actions. He wasn't of the distinct opinion that said actions were bad, but they were undoubtedly a possible threat that needed to be looked into.

The fact that he and his kin had history with the group only made it that much more important.

He claimed to be done with their clan, finished making his point and abandoning his project to avoid useless conflict when someone else started meddling in his affairs. He had what he wanted though, he had completed what he originally set out to do and everything else was simply a bonus.

But that didn't mean they still couldn't be brought down by his hand- intended or not.

With him having little to no interest in the clan they were just as likely to be caught up as collateral damage as he was to target them. He had no further use of them, what did it matter if they were wiped from the earth? They were under the protection- and control- of another clan and if that clan couldn't provide the proper protection it wasn't any of his concern.

Not for the first time he cursed the woman who had managed to steal his clan away from him just because the others were scared of the possible political repercussions of going against the ancient clan. He had to admit that her idea to get advice from the Imperial fire court was well played and nicely executed. No one could be sure just who she had asked and while Inoichi was fairly certain she had simply contacted a single member of the court the other clans were understandably cautious that the matter may have been looked into and supported by the court as a whole or at least a good portion of it.

Going against that kind of power was foolish and so they had supported her, old allies turning their backs to save their own skin.

Not that it did her any good in the end. The entire reason she had done so was a feeble and poorly planned- or perhaps it was just poorly decided, for it was planned well enough and had given her exactly what she intended to obtain and yet obtaining it did not help her achieve her other goals- serving only to further push away the son she had been hoping to lure back.

To a degree, he felt for the woman. He would go to any lengths for his daughter even if this entire mess could be traced back to her- though the boy held some of the blame for his actions provoked or not- and she demonstrated that in her attempts to regain her son.

The main problem was that she was focused so much on executing the plans that she had stopped trying to figure out what it was he actually wanted.

He wasn't sure if the boy had anything he wanted that the woman could actually give. Hell, according to his daughter's friend the Wolves- who he knew answered to the boy- had recently taken control of a country.

A fucking country!

Unless she was planning on gifting him an army of slaves- which actually seemed pretty likely- or another country- he probably didn't need help in that department, he seemed quite capable- than he couldn't imagine what might endear the boy to her.

And really, bribes weren't the best way to do this, anyway. If she wanted to make things better she'd need to talk to the boy and while he certainly made it hard on her- or really, just people in general, he was rather private- he wasn't actively avoiding her. From what he had heard she knew where he lived, too. Even with him currently taking a vacation- which not many Genin had the chance to because of their team and the low pay of the missions they did- he would be back eventually.

All she really needed to do was crash at his house and it wasn't like she spent much time at her own anyway. Her time was almost completely consumed with managing two clans and she only returned to her home for quick showers and a few hours of sleep. It might actually do her good to start doing so at his home so she could feel closer and if he was really lucky she would calm down and stop making his own job harder.

She might be in charge of his clan but he was still a clan head and had to keep everything running smoothly while she watched from the background, looming over his shoulder and analyzing every tiny detail.

It was absolutely exhausting-

But at least she got the short end of the stick.

After she finished with his clan business he was done, she still had to then go over things for the Uzumaki clan.

Serves her right for screwing up the kid's plans. Had they gone through the Yamanaka would be on their feet again and managed solely by him. He'd be doing his best to ensure his actions didn't interfere with the boy- and when he could, support- and in return he was sure his clan would be protected by the Wolves that had brought them down.

After all, a clan was an awfully useful recourse within a hidden village especially when you're trying to keep an organization hidden.

On that note, he should really keep his eye out to figure out who it was that the Wolves had sunk their fangs into. The kid had plans for his clan but seemed unperturbed when they were cut off and that could only mean he didn't have any problems adapting him.

One of the clans was working with the Wolves, as theirs should have been, and he should do his best to gain their favor. If he was really, really, _**really**_ lucky he might even manage to convince her to ally with them officially. Now wouldn't that be an interesting little connection between all of them.

Hell, if he came out with his plans to her he might actually be able to convince her that it was a good way to start connecting with her son. It wasn't the relationship she wanted with him but it would be a start, something she still failed to manage.

He would really have to take some time and decide if it was worth showing his hand and the plans he had of allying in secret with whomever were acting on behalf of the Wolves here in Konoha. Maybe he could run it by their daughters first, see what they decided.

It was almost humorous how with the absence of his two best friends- the heads of two clans that had long been allies with his own before they abandoned him- he was now seeking the council of two twelve year-old girls who had only just become Genin.

Unfortunately they knew the boy best and were some of the only to know what was going on with the Wolves while the rest of the village stayed blissfully ignorant- for now, at least.

It was better than no one, though, he needed to be able to bounce ideas off someone and his wife had never cared much for politicking so long as she could tend her beloved gardens. There were many times he wished he could simply stop being clan head and simply join her. He really couldn't wait until he retired, he just hoped that he, his family, and their clan lasted long enough for him to do so.

"Unless you succeed and we manage to regain our freedom the clan will never know what you're about to do for them." His eyes turned to look at the three before him. He had been blindsided by the boy and his Wolves with no chance to defend his clan, but he wasn't going to just sit around as they were torn apart by other players in the game. No, they would not be stationary, they would flow like water- like thought- and position themselves to weather this storm.

He might not be the best at this but he was no fool, he needed what needed to be done and how far he'd have to go for his clan. Because if he wasn't willing to risk his clan it was likely he wouldn't have one by the time everything had settled.

"But even so, know now that you are all heroes and I, if no one else, will remember what you were willing to do- willing to sacrifice for the sake of your family."

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before snapping them open once more, giving the final order that would set things in motion irrevocably.

"For the sake of the clan and with the speed of the swiftest spirits, go!"

"Hai, Inoichi-Sama!"

Three shadows vanished from the room, leaving Yamanaka Inoichi alone.

Three spies had sped off on a mission for their clan.

Three Shinobi had, as far as the village would be concerned, become traitors.

Three men were about to risk their lives sneaking into a country ruled by Wolves.

He could only pray they would all make it home safe.

But the Wolves weren't known for mercy.

* * *

It took monumental effort to keep his face in a pleasant half-smile as he followed behind the Wolf guiding his group.

Four hours- four fucking hours they had been made to wait!

They would have been able to clear everything up in a matter of minutes and yet they had to stand out in the terribly moist air of Nami no Kuni for hours. What made it worse was the fact that the Wolves left as guards had been laughing most of the time, taking obvious pleasure in their discomfort.

Sadistic bastards.

Not that it was too unexpected- the sadism, that is- from the group controlled by Orochimaru's godson. It was just another similarity between the two of them. Despite the familiarity- or perhaps due to it- it was not comforting in the slightest.

Of course, he couldn't let their most gracious hosts- and he meant that in the most sarcastic manner- know what he was thinking about them and their…hospitality. Orochimaru would be most displeased to hear of it.

As all who followed the women knew, her displeasure tended to translate to your displeasure. She had the most awful tendency to take out her anger on her subordinates until she was calmed down, too tired to continue, or had run out of people to inflict pain upon.

He could, quite unfortunately, speak of it with intimate experience.

These days he was in the habit of sending other unfortunate souls with his reports- just in case. Because even if his report was positive her mood could be anything but, something especially true when she first changed bodies. The sheer contrast between the hormones of the two bodies had certainly hit her hard and it took a few weeks for them to properly settle.

It had certainly been an interesting week though, lots of promotions (to fill newly emptied spaces), a few recruitment drives, and he was fairly certain he remembered her throwing a birthday party for one of the prisoners.

Thinking back on that strange occurrence was enough to let his face relax slightly, a small, amused smile gracing his lips naturally. Things were rarely boring in Orochimaru's bases, even if that could be considered a bad thing in most cases.

His mind sufficiently distracted from his feelings for the Wolfs- didn't they know the importance of first impressions?- he paid a bit more attention to the world around them. The concrete bridge they walked over rose in the middle and allowed a good view of the village not too far away.

He doubted they would actually go through it, at least not directly, but it wasn't too big that he couldn't see most of it. Most of what was currently there, he should probably amend, for a number of construction projects seemed to be underway to further the size of the rather modest town.

Then again, this was modest only if one considered other villages in the world. Considering the state this place had been in a month before under Gato's rule the state of growth was nothing short of amazing.

Bright neon lights proudly hung outside the most successful of the businesses and every building seemed to have electric lighting. Crowds of people went about their business with an unmistakably cheerful air despite the small size of the town and the state it had so recently been in.

Banks of mist spilled gently from alleyways that lead outside the town proper and flowed into the newly paved streets to nip playfully at the heels of passersby as it danced. That was both new and uncommon. Paved streets! In most cases such was only done within compounds such as those for clans of palaces of lords.

For an entire town to have such walkways was incredible, and in so little time too. The small size undoubtedly helped but even Konoha didn't bother to pave the streets-preferring to leave them dirt to avoid cost and maintenance associated with such roads- and it was one of the most financially powerful villages there was.

There was some, however, placed in the early days of the village, but that older area had evolved to become Konoha's own red-light district. With that in mind, he could see the resemblance. While most of the stores seemed reputable and he didn't see and shady characters on the streets- probably because of the Wolves- it had the same feeling.

He had to admit that despite his hatred for the environment he found himself in the town looked pretty inviting. The larger villages tried to hold on to tradition as much as possible despite the changes and their own growth and most small countries simply couldn't afford to advance themselves.

This, however, was a completely different situation. The town was small and pretty young but it was also rich, even if it hadn't got back up to speed. The amount of wealth that had been distributed from Gato's stores had seen that the town thrive and this is what it looked like- a town- do doubt soon a city- that didn't care for where it came from but rather where it was going.

The past was done, the foundation, and now it was time to build upon it.

Kabuto very much approved.

* * *

 **There's chapter XXXIV and XXXV is well underway, I should reach the halfway mark today.**

 **See you next week.**


	35. House of Wolves

**Did a bit better this time, the first 8k was received by ncp soon enough for him to get back to me by Saturday. Unfortunately the last 2k that made up the final scene didn't make it in time. Still, only two days late is an improvement to recent weeks.**

 **Thanks, of course, go to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Half a day had passed since the rough roads had leveled out to a point that bumps were a minor inconvenience but when he felt the transition from earth to paved road he knew the journey had almost reached its end.

A quick peek out from the covered window- earning a concerned glare from the Wolf nearest the carriage on that side- revealed that they had indeed reached the far outskirts of the capital city. And when he said far outskirts, he meant it.

They were so far, in fact, that there had yet to be any city. Instead concrete foundations and plots marked by flag-tied metal poles stood in the cities place. Hi no Kuni, being one of the most financially secure, was constantly expanding. Knowing this, the Imperial Fire Court decided to get a head start for all future building and had set about having ten new sections prepared at any given time.

Each section was separated by the beginnings of a wall that flanked the road and merged as large, empty gates. Banners, similarly, were hung on either side of the road on these gates. The red fabric danced gently in the light wind of fire country but the solid black emblem of Hi no Kuni remained prominently displayed.

Naturally, that emblem was of a ball of fire and the fluttering banners gave off the illusion that it was burning. Intended or not, it certainly helped the city's image which was, unfortunately, somewhat impaired by the preparations made.

It was, however, practical, and that was far more important.

He had to remove his finger from the dark red fabric that hung over his window before one of his Wolves decided the window should be filled with wooden boards for his safety but he already knew what to expect when it came to the capital of Hi no Kuni. He had, after all, been raised in Konoha where they taught their students all about it.

The Shinobi academy, in particular, taught the most, covering everything from the drainage systems to the servant stairways within the Daimyo's personal bedchamber. This was for two reasons, the primary being that in the case of an attack on the capital the Shinobi of Konohagakure could be rapidly deployed to aid the armies of Samurai and evacuate the important residents of the city- namely those of the upper two tiers, the members of the Imperial Fire Court.

The lesser known reason was in case they were ever against the Daimyo and needed to mount an attack of their own against the capital. Shinobi tended not to speak of that reason, though, for it was the general belief that the Imperial Fire Court and the Daimyo would frown upon such. Which was completely understandable, for in that case they would be the targets.

There weren't many people, it would seem, who enjoyed being targeted by Shinobi. Unsurprisingly, most of them were Shinobi themselves itching for fights.

He was quite certain the Daimyo didn't fall into either of those categories.

On the off chance he was, however, Naruto- like every student to graduate the academy and even some who didn't- was well prepared to make his day.

The Main road he was currently on, the one whose main gate faced southwards to avoid the rising and setting sun for the sake of symbolism he really hadn't been interested in at the time, was the covered in smooth black pavement all the way from the Daimyo's palace to the outskirts of the latest prepared section of the city.

That same pavement would stop after a single street to either side where it usually reverted to cut blocks. Those paved roads tended to differ depending on which neighborhood one visited within the city. Some roads were made of regular brick, others with grey shapes in odd patterns, still others were created to show images. In poorer areas and occasionally in those belonging to the rich and paranoid gravel covered the ground.

Areas that contained official buildings tended to be covered in smooth concrete carefully maintained by those in the employ of the city itself.

In the end, it lacked uniformity and elegance but, like fire, it was bright and alive. It also made it really easy for one to know where they were for while similar neighborhoods would show the same characteristics there would always be something slightly different to set them apart.

The roofs, he knew, were all made of red- or, in the case of the light grey government buildings, orange- tile and worked with other buildings to form a rather unique drainage system that took advantage of the overlapping roofing and differing angles to direct the rainwater of the summer months away from the streets as much as possible to decrease the strain on the tunnels that ran beneath the roads.

Only the capital of Mizu no Kuni exceeded them in the management of water throughout the city but because it wasn't as critical as it was in the land of water it was nonetheless impressive work.

It also meant any trained Shinobi could easily make their way through the city without touching the streets. Compared to the road-like roofs of Konohagakure- probably a result of a partially failed attempt to avoid such a situation- it was like a highway and with no Shinobi patrols atop it to stop one from using it a thief or assassin was bound to find themselves in love.

The Imperial Fire Court, likely realizing this, made their homes in the second tier of the city, a slightly raised area with a better wall and patrolled by Samurai and the occasional Guardian at all times. The First tier, which housed the Daimyo's palace, was much the same, only to a substantially larger degree.

It was probably the only reason the Daimyo yet lived in a city so readily accessible by assassins.

Of course, being at the first tier, they would have to go through quite a lot of gates before reaching the palace. If her remembered correctly, the last count of tiers had been somewhere around twelve with talk of a soon to be started thirteenth. With the width of the seventh tier being the same diameter of Konoha and each tier increasing in size they still had a long ways to go before he could speak with the Daimyo. That was, of course, assuming he could manage an audience.

He felt the carriage slow down considerably. Considering they had stopped for a rest just a few hours ago he knew the four- there had been two in wave, where did they find the others?- horses couldn't be that tired which meant they were nearing the latest gate of Hi no Kuni's capital.

Another quick peek, lasting only a moment, showed that he was indeed correct and let his see the various construction crews working on the outskirts in the construction of another tier. He was of the opinion that the Daimyo should just make a new city nearby but it was his land and his money, he could use it as he pleased.

Despite having only peeked out for a few seconds, he could feel the glare of at least one Wolf through the wood of his carriage. He appreciated their devotion to him and his well-being, but they were really taking things just a bit too seriously.

The carriage eventually came to a stop and he wondered if now woukld be a good time to draw the curtains so the gate guards could take a quick look inside the carriage but ultimately decided to let the Wolves take care of it.

When one of the drivers mentioned that they had just taken over a country and would like to speak with the Daimyo at his earliest convenience Naruto slightly regretted that decision. He could hear the sputtering of the guard and the laugh of another and wondered if they would even make it inside the city.

The laughing eventually stopped and the sound of flesh impacting flesh- a hand on the shoulder of the first guard, if he had to guess- managed its way through the dark wood of his carriage.

"Alright then, we'll send word to the Daimyo and see how he wants us to proceed." There was still some faint chuckling in his voice and his amusement was clear. "Until we hear back I'd ask that you proceed over there-" Naruto could only assume he pointed somewhere- "and just hold tight."

After a moments pause he proceeded to ask;

"Now, who should I have announced at being at the gate?"

"The Wolves escort our lord, Tsukiyomi-Sama."

"I'll make sure he knows. Any refreshments?" The disbelieving sputtering of the first guard resumed in force. Naruto suspected the Wolf shook his head because the second guard continued. "Suit yourselves, this shouldn't take more than an hour."

With that he heard two steps of footsteps walking off- or, rather, one walking and the other being half dragged- and the carriage pulled off to the side of the road by the guardhouse.

He had to wonder if the Daimyo would actually allow them in the city- let alone in his presence- after an announcement like that.

Not for the first time, he wished Mai had joined him on this journey.

* * *

An hour later Naruto was still shaking his head in disbelief. It had taken twenty minutes for word to reach them from the Daimyo and he had immediately cleared his schedule to meet with them. Despite the fact that his Wolf had openly stated that they just took over a country- which would imply the murder of another Daimyo- they were going to be allowed in his presence. In fact, Naruto had a feeling that it was because the Wolf had said such a thing that they were admitted so quickly.

Evidently the Daimyo's curiosity was peaked.

He had certainly heard that the man could be a bit strange, but this was something else. Not that he felt the Daimyo was being foolish, the man had an army within his walls that would tear them to shreds as soon as they stepped out of line. And while he wasn't being as careful as he could be, he was still in a good position and couldn't be blamed for being interested in meeting someone who claimed to have taken over a country.

News like that would usually spread quickly enough, so for there to be a change in ownership he didn't hear about must have been sufficiently enticing for a Daimyo who was likely finding himself rather bored as he took care of the affairs of his country.

Naruto and his Wolves were likely a very welcome break.

And probably an excuse to completely wipe his daily schedule. Naruto, having dealt with the paperwork solely from a hidden organization for a while, knew only vaguely what it must have felt like but it was enough to understand that some of the things removed from that day's plans weren't going to be finding themselves on one anytime soon- if ever.

He had certainly been guilty of that himself, much to Mai's ire. That's not to say he managed to avoid it, of course, for, like he said, it hadn't earned any points with Mai and she had been more than happy to find some way to squeeze it into his full schedule.

He didn't regret handing most of that work off to her, but perhaps he should get her something to show his thanks- like a vacation. A long vacation. A very long vacation. She had Sai and the Wolves doing as much as they could on that front but she still managed their relation with both the Inuzuka which meant pouring over reports of council meetings and deep research into Konoha law and with Hinata's little cult. Seeing as Hinata had very little idea as to what exactly she was supposed to be doing she often sought out advice from the older girl.

Just the Wolves had been enough work in his opinion, and back then Sai and Mai helped tremendously. With her managing all three he couldn't imagine her workload which, he had to remember, might mean distracting her from it was a bad idea. It would seem as though he couldn't start planning something to thank her- and latter Sai, though he had been given an army and dual governance (to a degree, not that the people knew such) of a country under his control- until after they met again.

Whenever that ended up happening, of course, as he still didn't have a concrete schedule for this trip which had, most likely, gone on far too long. People were going to start getting suspicious if he didn't return soon and afterwards he wouldn't be able to leave again for quite some time. Because team or not, the boy living on his own and working only the occasional mission with other Shinobi- B and C rank or not- should not be able to afford constant vacations out of the country lasting for weeks.

Though maybe next time he could pass it off as further survival training. It would be a simple matter to convince Anko, especially if he offered pay, and he could probably trust her with the knowledge of where he was going and who he was dealing with- something that wouldn't seem so bad as soon as he( or, rather, the Wolves) were recognized by the Daimyo.

And if it came down to it, he could always offer her a spot amongst the pack. It wasn't like she hadn't already become close to him and the pack was supposed to be the equivalent of his family. Considering how much time she spent with him, how often she crashed at his place because she was bored, and the number of times they had shared a bed it didn't seem like too much of a jump to induct her as a trusted member of his personal army.

Oh, yes, that sounded like the best option. Well, that or a mission near Nami no Kuni, perhaps he could have one of the villagers personally request him on a mission? No, still suspicious, but they could ask for Anko. She was well known for her bloodthirst and love of explosions, Naruto was sure he could fabricate a mission perfectly suited to her.

On second thought, he'd have to ensure there actually was a mission to avoid her ire. It wasn't a good idea to promise the woman one of her favorite things and then not deliver. He liked his balls just where they were, thank you.

So, the problem with him getting back to Wave seemed to be sorted, now he just had to get a bit of insurance to ensure it was still his Wave when he did. He felt the carriage roll to a stop and took one last peak to confirm they had reached their destination.

Taking a quick moment to ensure his scarf and black cloak kept any distinguishing features hidden he made to open the door only to be beaten to it by one of his Wolves on the outside. Taking it in stride he stepped out from the carriage that had served as his moving home for the better part of two weeks.

The courtyard they were in was rather plain, all things considered, paved with tightly packed stone tiles and completely empty save the two gardens that flanked the walkway- marked by being grey instead of the burnt orange of the rest of the courtyard- in the shape of outward facing crescents, the middles of which were filled with additional gardens arranged in perfect circles around small ponds.

Benches were scattered about so that the front gardens might be appreciated but he didn't think they got much use. It was too simple, to plain, to be of much note to the royal family. The Daimyo himself, from what he had heard, might be satisfied by them but he was too busy for such a luxury when his time was limited and his family was no doubt spending their own time somewhere more grand.

It was enough, however, to show that the lord did, in fact, care for his image and was willing to ensure the first impression of guests was elegance of a simple, natural variety. He didn't overwhelm with opulence but gently ease one into his home with a grand display of something common, almost as if to say he didn't need anything fancy to set himself apart and stand far above you.

Considering he ruled the greater country of Hi no Kuni, one whose financial power was more solid than the mountains of Tsuchi no Kuni, more vast then the deserts of Kaze no Kuni, and with coffers deeper than the coasts of Mizu no Kuni, it kind of went without saying.

At least he wasn't gloating about it from the get-go. That was certainly a point in his favor. Unfortunately, Naruto doubted that would remain once he entered into the palace proper. Even if the Daimyo didn't need the extravagance his family would crave it and the palace itself was built long before his time and had spent many generations amassing decorative treasures.

Unless the Lord had removed it all- unlikely, it would be more than enough to keep a smaller country running for centuries- it would still be there in its overwhelming grandeur.

Of course, he really hadn't expected anything else. The fact that the courtyard was so plain was an unexpected and very welcome surprise. He had spent the better part of two weeks within that carriage, stopping only to rest when they absolutely had to and he was glad the first thing he saw upon exiting wasn't the overwhelming wealth of Hi on Kuni's royal family.

You wouldn't be able to see that relief- nor the distaste he felt for what he was going to see within the palace- however, not just because his face was covered but because it was kept carefully blank, the very image of professionalism. The Wolves would accept him no matter how he acted- he was their master, after all- but the idea that he, the one representing them, might look foolish, even in just their presence- was unacceptable. He always- without fail- addressed them properly as a commander to his soldiers.

He was now putting all that experience into practice, ensuring his movements were calm and controlled, flowing with the grace of the predator he was. He did not walk, eating up the distance between himself and the palace with long strides, so much as he stalked towards it with the unstoppable purpose of the Shinigami coming to collect a favored soul.

The palace guards were taken aback by the authority and power he seemed to radiate despite his size and so unprepared were they that they found themselves momentarily stunned. By the time they regained their senses and remembered what it was they were supposed to be doing- snapping back into the proper mindset of their station as the Daimyo's palace guards- Naruto had nearly reached the doors.

Two Wolves flanked him- the identities of which he didn't know but observing them from the corner of his eyes he could tell they were female – and his cloak fluttered protectively behind him. He stopped before the door, black fabric catching up to him in a loving embrace that further shrouded his features in darkness.

The guards were addressed curtly but with an underlying hint of disdain that gave the distinct impression that they were beneath it. That wasn't' actually unusual for them, they had grown to expect it after years of dealing with the lords and ladies of the Imperial Fire Court, but the sense of danger that radiated off this newest guest was certainly new. He was short- almost comically so now that they could see him close up- but the way he held himself and the relaxed posture of his guards made it clear that he wasn't to be underestimated.

"Our lord is expecting me, be gone from my path that I might meet with him."

The impatience was characteristic of the other lords but the way he had addressed the Daimyo wasn't. The other lords always referred to the man respectfully but here was an outsider proclaiming that he, too, was beneath the Lord of Fire.

It was an oddity without a doubt, this new, enigmatic guest of their lord's, but perhaps that's why the Daimyo was willing to meet on such short notice. In the end, however, it was not their place to question.

With nods to the strange young- or maybe just unfortunately short- man they opened the two and a half story tall double doors revealing a waiting man. He was plain, so plain it was suspicious, but the mark of fire rested upon his hip to proclaim him to be one of the Twelve Guardians.

He gave a polite smile, small and disarming, before beckoning the three forward. Without waiting he turned heel and began walking further into the palace. Appreciative of the no-nonsense meeting between the two, Naruto was quick to resume his aggressive pace, two Wolves slinking behind their alpha.

The hallway, as he suspected, were just dripping with riches in ways he found to be distasteful. Red walls had veins of gold that alternated between looking like whisping smoke and burning flames, highlighted with careful accents of silver. The solid marble beneath his feet was likewise covered in flowers of all sizes made of everything from precious metals, rare stones, and even ivory. A crimson carpet, at least a good inch thick, went straight down the hallway, no doubt an effort to protect the precious flooring that could easily place several struggling lesser countries back on their feet.

As they traveled further and further into the Daimyo's domain things increased exponentially. Displays of weapons, armor, rare relics, and even strange mutated animals that had been preserved lined the walls to impress any who were granted the honor of visiting the palace. Guards were stationed regularly, whether to protect the Daimyo and his family or ensure the safety of the displays unknown.

It made him sick. There was no elegance in this gaudy display of opulence, it served no real purpose but to shove the fact that the lord of this place was far too wealthy for his own good down one's throat. He sup[posed a civilian might be in awe, and a lord wary of angering one with such resources that they could wantonly show off such splendor but for a Shinobi it just felt wrong.

It wasn't that Shinobi didn't like wealth- quite the opposite, they were a bunch of greedy bastards- but it was the manner in which the wealth was being used that wasn't right in their eyes.

To put it bluntly- this was all useless. There was no point to any of this. Yes, it could make lord hesitant and civilians feel small, but there were better ways than in such an untasteful display of one's coffers. Power is what it all came down to. Money was a form of power and displaying it reminded others of the power you held. He understood that, but it would be so much better used to do something.

Nothing said power like buying massive amounts of other countries or erecting giant monuments to the greatness of your country, your family, and, most importantly, one's self.

Amass an army, corner the markets, take hold of a small country by the neck with the hands of plenty until it can't function without your express permission. That was power and that was how one should show it. Not by turning your home into some sort of museum for vastly overvalued knickknacks and heirlooms that as far as anyone could tell might have been created by your blacksmith the day before.

Of course, that was the problem with nobles, this was the only way they knew to show that power and financial power was the only they really cared about when the Daimyo had control of such a vast army. Even if the Daimyo felt the same way he did about this shit, he would have no choice but to show it off to remind visiting lords who it was in control here.

He really didn't have to worry about it in Naruto's case, though.

There were two people to whom he answered, as he had once told Mito upon their first meeting long ago, and that's why when they entered a large throneroom dripping with gold and bathed in a soft orange light he immediately dropped to a single knee.

As a Shinobi- and back then a Shinobi in training- of Konohagakure no Sato in Hi no Kuni he owed his allegiance to the Hokage and- above even him- the Daimyo. Even back before he had started his training he, as a citizen of Hi no Kuni and a subject of the Imperial Fire Court, his loyalty lied at the feet of this man.

Only two people in this room knew his identity, however, so the other occupants were understandably surprised. Bows were common between lords, kneeling not so much.

The Daimyo took it in stride though, hiding a small smile behind a favored fan as he rose from his throne. Pausing to shoot reprimanding looks at the other occupants of the room- a multitude of guards, a few maids, and two of his children- he continued smiling once the hushed whispers had ceased.

"Please, rise, Tsukiyomi-Dono, are we not both lords here?"

While he remained kneeling, Naruto's covered head rose to meet the eyes of the Daimyo.

"At the moment I am no lord, simply a subject of your court who has obtained land outside your domain." His voice was soft but carried well. It was neither assertive nor submissive, an even tone that did nothing more than convey words.

"A subject of my court?" One of the Lord's brows rose inquisitively. "Now that is interesting. Tell me then, Tsukiyomi-San, why, if you have managed to gain a hold of a country outside my grasps, do you now kneel before me? Surely it hurts your pride when you could just as easily declare yourself a lord of your new country."

"I was born here, my lord, within the land of fire. It is within this country I have lived my life and you to whom I have owed my allegiance since birth. Just because I have amassed land does not mean I have been removed from under your rule and so long as I am I shall serve as I swore."

"Swore?" He puzzled over it for a moment before it struck him, lighting up his face considerably. "Ah! I see! You are a warrior, then, not just a man who has created an army and used them to establish himself as a lord. What is it, then, that you are? Samurai, Shinobi? Maybe even a simple Warlord who has managed to avoid both on your rise to power?"

"I am Shinobi, as are those I command."

The Daimyo made an odd noise in the back of his throat, obviously having noted that the kneeling man before him hadn't claimed to be 'a Shinobi' but rather 'Shinobi', as if he were the archetype. It was arrogant and presumptuous, but most Shinobi had more than enough power to overthrow a Daimyo and all his forces with just a small group- a few dozen, should have been sufficient- and yet none had bothered to. Sure, people claimed that it would lead to Shinobi wars, but he hadn't heard of this group or the country they overthrew so it couldn't be that difficult to keep fellow villages in the dark.

He was of Hi no Kuni, too- or so he claimed- which meant Konohagakure no Sato, a place known for prodigies mostly because the rest of their forces were so painfully average- often times less than that, too- more than because they outshone the forces of fellow villagers. Oddly enough though, those same prodigies so easily seen amongst their lackluster comrades often outshone those of other villages. It truly was odd, almost as if all the potential from their fellows had been stolen and given to them instead.

If nothing else, it kept things roughly balanced.

This young man, however, seemed to slip beneath everyone's radar- perhaps on purpose- and managed to take over a country without anyone else being any the wiser.

Acknowledging him for that feat, if nothing else, the Daimyo accepted it.

"So you are, so you are. I have many more questions, Shinobi, but the first is perhaps the most important, as it will determine the path our dealings take." He stopped, looking deep into the purple eyes of his guest that glowed in a slightly ominous fashion amongst the gentle light of the room. "What country has fallen to the Shinobi who claims the name of Tsukiyomi and his pack of wolves?"

"One most coveted, my lord." All within the room could feel the grin that stretched over hidden lips. "I am sure you know of the riches it has amassed in the past and the potential it holds within its borders. I come before you today with that country in the palm of my hand-

"I kneel before you representing the new order of Nami no Kuni."

That, above all else, most certainly gained the Daimyo's attention and he broke out into a grin behind his fan.

"Oh? Is that so? In that case, I do believe it's safe to say we do in fact have further business to attend to, Tsukiyomi-Dono. Shall we retreat to my study?"

And with that, the first step was taken.

The rest would be soon to follow.

* * *

Two glasses were poured by the Daimyo's own hand, his fan having been left atop the table and a grin showing plainly on his face. He grabbed one before sinking into a red armchair by the empty fireplace, shoeless feet buried within crimson carpeting that was more like an unkempt lawn than proper flooring. If there was a limit then those who built and decorated this palace over the years certainly hadn't been informed.

With one arm the Lord lazily gestured to the remaining cup in silent invitation. For the sake of politeness he accepted it but made no move to sit. Seeing this, the Daimyo frowned slightly.

"It's only the two of us here, you don't have to worry about image. Have a seat and we can discuss these recent developments properly."

A curt nod later and he took his place in the chair across from the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, letting his eyes roam quickly over his surroundings. The walls here, like most of the palace, were a deep red and in the gold light of the room seemed to glow warmly. To his left was the fireplace, unlit despite the eminent winter.

To the right, at the far end of the room, was a large ornate desk stacked high with papers and reports the Daimyo had yet to go through. There were curtains behind it but the complete lack of light indicated it was just for show and no window was hidden behind it. He could understand that, the Wolves had never been comfortable with him out in the open and a window to an office was a glaring vulnerability.

Directly behind the Daimyo's chair was a wall absolutely filled- floor to ceiling and left to right- with overburdened book cases. Behind his own chair and to the far right sat a few filing cabinets nestled into the corner. The door was also behind him, about halfway along the wall. In the end the room was pretty simple, focusing on functionality as it served its function as the Daimyo's study.

Naruto was certain there was a 'proper' office somewhere as well for other, more official, meetings. If the Daimyo was agreeable today than the next time they met would probably be there. If he gained the man's favor, however, he might be fortunate and future meetings might continue to take place here away from the bullshit of nobility.

Such thoughts were better kept for another time, however, for as soon as he appeared settled the Daimyo continued.

"There, isn't that better?" He didn't wait for a response. "Now, you come before me as Tsukiyomi and hide your face, but before we begin I need to know who it is I'll be dealing with, otherwise I'll never be able to tell you apart from an impostor and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, flicking them around the room in a quick sweep to ensure there wasn't anyone hidden, before he complied with a nod. Not before, however, he hissed;

"This does not leave this room." If the Daimyo was angered by such he did precious little to show it, choosing instead to smile and lean back.

"Of course, of course, you, a Konoha Shinobi, just took over a country. I understand your need for secrecy."

The hood was pulled back first, exposing his blood red hair that seemed to burn like living fire under the dim golden light of the room. His skin, too, reacted to the light. In addition to the normal, almost ethereal glow his pale skin produced in the dark areas it contrasted with there was a tinge of gold around him similar to the light themselves.

Like the moon whose governing spirit he took his name from he reflected the light of the sun, imitating the sister spirit to such a degree that the Daimyo was momentarily stunned. As the scarf was pulled down, showing a face with features indicating noble blood, the lord commented on it.

"Had you not had yourself announced as Tsukiyomi I'd have likely believed you to be his wife and were I a deeply faithful man, I might have believed you truly were a child of Izanagi. But perhaps you are not wrong to style yourself after the moon god with looks so out of place amongst mortals."

Naruto gave a shallow bow from his sitting position before pulling his hood back up to block his features from the light. His scarf, on the other hand, remained pulled down to his neck so that the Daimyo could still see most of his face.

"I thank you for your most kind compliments."

It was obvious to the Daimyo that the young man before him really didn't care for the compliment and likely didn't think anything of his looks. That was to be expected, though, he came across as a man of action, one who favored the image he created with his work to his own physical appearance.

Still, there was something about his face that was familiar, reminding him of someone he had known long ago. It was close, so close, just at the tip of his tongue, and it probably would have remained as such. But he didn't have to rely on some faint whisper in the back of his head to drudge up whatever memory he was trying to recollect, he had his answers ready before him.

"Your face is not one I know," He started. "But it reminds me of one I did. Tell me, what name has been given to your flesh?"

"Bestowed upon me was the name Naruto."

"Naruto? Just Naruto? Your features indicated you are of noble blood, you cannot expect me to believe you have no surname."

"I had one, once." Usually that meant one had been banished from a clan or noble family in shame but that was not always the case.

Rather than immediately ask for clarification the Daimyo took a moment to ponder what he knew. The face was familiar, the noble blood was obvious, and he no longer carried his family name, why did he feel he knew something of this boy before him?

' _Naruto, hmm? Where do I know that name from?'_

And then it hit him, an official renouncement sent by one of an ancient clan had found its way to his attention two years ago after the official record-keeper realized exactly how significant it was.

"Yes, I remember now. You are the former Uzumaki prince, are you not?" Naruto grimaced slightly in response but the lord couldn't tell if it was because of the clan or his noble heritage being acknowledged.

Regardless, he answered.

"I am."

"My, my, how interesting. To think that not only did you end up before me but you did so in possession of a country. It was only four years ago your mother was here, you know, she brought along your sister and I wondered if I would ever have the chance to meet you personally." He grinned. "I suppose that question has been answered."

"I suspected she would have visited." Admitted Naruto. "With the death of her husband she probably needed to re-cement the ties between the Uzumaki formerly of Uzushiogakure and your land of Hi no Kuni."

"You refer to your father as her husband, is this because you have left the clan or do you have other reasons?" The Daimyo had always been fond of the man who had sired the former prince before him, it would be a shame if his son didn't feel the same.

"It is all I know him as."

That was troubling, surely he couldn't really mean that he knew nothing about his father besides the fact that he married his mother, right? It was more than some knew, admittedly, but any child of such a legend should know who they represent and who it is they would be trying to live up to. Anything else simply wasn't fair to them.

"Are you saying you don't know anything of him?"

"I know he was a Shinobi who died during the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago."

"And?"

"And nothing else, that is all I know of the man who sired me." The distress felt by the Daimyo had obviously made itself known upon his face. Some secrets needed to be hidden, he knew that, but others were simply too big to hide.

"Are you well, my lord?"

The voice broke through whatever thoughts had plagued him and he gave a weak smile to the young man across from him.

"I am fine, just a bit…shocked…I suppose. I would have thought someone had shared with you the knowledge of his identity, considering it is his shadow that will loom o'er your head until the day you die."

"I take it you know him?"

"Oh yes, I did indeed." The smile turned bittersweet. "I remember him fondly and considered him to be a friend. He was always welcome here, almost like the son I never had. He didn't stop by often, but he made sure to write and usually talked about the projects he was working on with one of the Sannin."

"Jiraiya-Sama?"

The Daimyo laughed.

"No, not his mentor, there was nothing left for the man to teach him aside Sage techniques but even he hadn't fully mastered them. He was working with another of the Sannin, Orochimaru, who he often described as matching and sometimes exceeding his own brilliance. The two of them were close, from what I know, and often collaborated on various ideas. Sealing, in particular, was of great fascination to them both- though they both approached it differently- and your mother's collection of Uzumaki sealing techniques were a great help to the two over the years."

Now _that_ was interesting, it would also explain why the rouge Shinobi from Konohagakure was his godfather. The Sannin must have left Konoha sometime after his death and with him gone it was likely no one bothered to change the fact that he was one of his godparents. After all, with him off god knows where the chances of him ever being part of his godchild's life were slim even in the occurrence where something happened to his mother.

One should always expect the worst, but even that was a little too farfetched for people to worry about. It didn't seem to matter, either, as a living parent hadn't kept him from contacting his godson.

"I see, that would explain why he was chosen as my godfather." The Daimyo seemed surprised by this, but not in a bad way.

"Is he now? Yes, that does make a lot of sense, your father was well respected and quite loved but wasn't close to many. Besides your mother, Orochimaru was probably the person he was closest to. Have you been in contact with him lately, by any chance?"

Naruto's amethyst eyes narrowed.

"Godfather or not, he is a traitor. As a Shinobi of Konohagakure and a subject of the Imperial Fire court it would be frowned upon to do such."

The Daimyo waved one hand in a lazy dismissal of his comment.

"As a Konoha Shinobi perhaps, but being a subject of the court is completely unrelated." At Naruto's inquisitive look he continued. "Konoha is rather isolated from the rest of Hi no Kuni and we- the court- tend to turn a blind eye to most of it. As far as we're concerned he only ever harmed those of Konoha and they're partly to blame for living in a Shinobi village when those in the trade are so often known to suffer mental illnesses.

"Because it's Hi no Kuni Konoha Shinobi are free to apprehend anyone they've marked as a criminal and return to their village unless they've been granted sanctuary within Hi no Kuni by the court, in which case action can only be taken should they step foot within Konoha itself. Said criminals, however, are not necessarily considered criminals within Hi no Kuni itself, as they haven't yet gone against the country."

"Sounds like bullshit."

The Daimyo shrugged.

"You have to realize that the idea of hidden villages is still rather recent, only about a century old. We're still working to find the right balance between the hidden villages and the countries they're sworn to protect. To that end, we take a lose stance and simply tighten as needed. So far we've yet to see any benefit from making enemies with the rouge Sannin and in all these years he has yet to show any further interest in his old village."

"I suppose that's a good thing, then."

A brow rose in question.

"I've extended a standing invitation for him to relocate to Nami no Kuni."

"Your father would be pleased. Not many liked Orochimaru, he tended to rub them the wrong way, having his son get along with the Sannin would have done him proud."

"Were you intending on telling me who he was?"

"Ah, yes, I'm afraid I became distracted. Your father was the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. I don't know why you wouldn't have been told. You're a fine young man with a good head on your shoulders. I suppose some might say it was for your own protection, but you conquered Nami no Kuni. If you can manage that I think you can keep yourself safe and even if you can't you would have likely been a target as the leader of the Wolves once discovered. There's no reason for you not to know."

"The Yondaime…" Naruto repeated lightly. "I'm the son of the Yondaime." He hadn't expected that, not in the slightest, but he really didn't have the time to ponder it either. He was here on business and couldn't forget that. Later, when this was all over, he could sit down and wonder what that would mean for him and, most importantly, how he could use it to his advantage.

"Indeed, do you need a moment? It's a rather heavy truth I've just placed upon your shoulders and I can't blame you if you need time to take it in."

"No, thank you. I'll be fine."

"If you insist."

A moment of silence passed anyway, the train of the conversation having been lost. It was Naruto who eventually broke it.

"Would it be too much to ask to borrow a courier, my lord? I have a letter I need to send to Commander Sai so he can forward it to his sister. I have some things I need her to look into and they should both be notified of this latest development."

"Not at all. Don't take this wrong, but it will allow me to confirm your hold on Wave. I, personally, would like to believe you, but I still need to make sure or I'll never here the end of it from the court."

"Of course, better cautious than defeated."

"I'm glad you understand though I do find myself a bit curious."

"About what?"

"Why you would be contacting the sister of your commander? Is he not the one you trust to lead the Wolves?"

"He is, but the Wolves are not my only project."

"Oh? My, you are a busy one. Didn't you just use the Wolves to take over a country?"

"The opportunity presented itself earlier than expected."

"I see, that was rather fortunate."

"It was, Nami no Kuni will prove useful in my other plans, especially should things go wrong."

"And you expect them to?"

"Better cautious than defeated." Repeated Naruto. "That's why I've come to you."

"Yes, I suppose that would be the real reason you decided to pay me a visit. Subject or not, you're far too ambitious to have approached me with your country with the intention of handing it over."

"Indeed, but that doesn't mean you can't benefit from this arrangement. I'm not so foolish as to ask of you without providing ample tribute."

"Nami no Kuni is well known for the wealth it can amass. This palace has been filled with priceless treasures for many centuries but the riches generated in your new country often threaten to encroach upon the domain that has rightfully belonged to it since the beginning. And while those riches are changing hands amongst the inhabitants and traders for the most part, I know you and your Wolves will be benefiting greatly.

"Supporting your rule, allying myself with your new country, would provide Hi no Kuni with untold opportunities." He gave a sly grin to the young man across from him. "It's also the only way to have anything reminiscent of a claim on the country without risking my standing amongst the elemental court, but I'm sure you're well aware."

"Naturally."

"Of course, you wouldn't come to me unless you were prepared. Now, with Orochimaru being welcome to a land of riches and a great pack of Wolves prowling for its protection, shall we get down to business and discuss all the wonderful ways we can help each other?"

"I'm sure this relation will prove most profitable."

The Daimyo laughed.

"In your case, boy, you have no idea. Hi no Kuni has coveted the land possessed by Nami no Kuni for many, many years. Now that we have it, well, I do believe that's worthy of a rather substantial reward."

They continued to speak long into the night, breaking only to sup at the Daimyo's table, and Naruto was eventually provided with the courier he had requested. With negotiations finished and only a confirmation of his control over Wave remaining before the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni officially recognized him as the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni, Naruto and his Wolves were offered rooms within the palace as honored guests.

A week later, after the courier's return, the two set their plan into action. Tsukiyomi of the Wolves was recognized formally by the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni as the lesser Daimyo of Nami no Kuni before being granted a seat within the Imperial Fire Court as dictated by a treaty that had been signed only seconds later. With the seat in the court came his own noble house, the first of its kind to be bound by oath rather than blood, and the House of Wolves was born.

Two Daimyo were pleased that day. One, who had managed to gain open access to the country that had traditionally served as the trading hub of the world, and the other who had managed to elevate his forces to a house in a greater court.

It was a day neither would be soon to forget.

* * *

Gently the carriage came to a stop, which couldn't possibly be right. They had left the capital of Hi no Kuni no more than an hour ago fully stocked and with a brand new set of horses. What could they possibly be stopping for?

Ignoring his desire to just peek out the curtains to try for a glimpse of whatever reason they were no longer moving- they had threatened to sic Mai on him if he didn't stop- and instead rapped the back of his hand against the door.

When he heard taping against the glass instead of seeing the door open a crack he had to roll his eyes. Naturally the one time he didn't look out was the time they wanted him to use the window instead. The fact that they refused to open the door, however, told him that they felt there was a possible threat to his well-being. More so than that which prompted them to keep him safely hidden away, at least.

Moving the curtains let him look out the window but the only thing he could see was a Wolf who was keeping one eye towards the front of the carriage. Naruto decided to just get to the heart of the matter. They had a long way to go and he really wanted to get this trip over with.

"Why have we stopped?"

"There's someone on the road, a woman."

Naruto raised a brow.

"And? It's a road, we can't be the only ones using it."

"She's not moving, Tsukiyomi-Sama."

"So have you checked to see if she's still alive?"

"She's alive, she's just not moving from the center of the road." The Wolf paused briefly before clarifying. "She's standing there staring at us, as if she's been waiting."

"Ah, why didn't you say that in the first place? No matter, have any of you spoken to her yet?"

"No, we've all just sort of stared at each other thus far, I think the others are waiting for her to say something first."

Naruto let out a sigh. The Wolves were better suited to act amongst the populace than Root but the failed conditioning they went through still left its marks.

"Then let the others know they have two options. Either they speak with her and sort everything out so we can continue or I'll do it myself."

The Wolf seemed almost horrified that he would even consider leaving the safety of the carriage when the Wolves had yet to check the perimeter and take up suitable posts. The idea that he would then approach an unknown in the open, however, was far worse.

Naruto was almost regretful that their uniform included the mask. The face the man would have been making would have no doubt served to be rather entertaining.

"O-of course, Tsukiyomi-Sama, I'll let them know immediately." He made to leave but faltered in his step, turning back to his lord. "Please, stay safe."

In the end that's what they were most concerned about and everything they do was in hopes that it would keep him out of danger. It was not so much because they believed him weak, he thought, but rather because they didn't want to lose him. He had given their lives purpose again and allowed them to be more than sleeper agents waiting for a time of crisis.

And for that, they loved him.

Naruto gave a soft smile to the man, seen only because he had taken the liberty of removing his scarf during the journey.

"I'll be fine, my child, I have all of you here to protect me, don't I?"

The Wolf seemed to perk up at his words, both because of the faith he was placing in them and the more affectionate way he had been addressed.

"Yes, my lord!" He wasted no time after that, hurrying off to see the will of his lord done. Admittedly, it was more for the purpose of keeping his Lord's will be done, because he knew he would much rather leave the carriage and speak to this person personally.

Tsukiyomi had really come to hate that carriage during the trip to the capital, more so than seemed reasonable. Perhaps it wasn't so much the carriage itself but what it represented- the useless role it forced him to assume and the slow burden it placed upon the journey. Or, perhaps, it was simply the journey itself. Tsukiyomi was a man who liked to get things done. Spending so much time on the road likely felt like a massive waste to the man.

The Wolf was quick to the front of the carriage where several of the Wolves had gathered across from the woman. The others were either flanking behind her in the trees, ready to strike, or surrounding the carriage in case they should be attacked from another direction.

The secondary driver seemed to be the one at the forefront of the group so he made his way to them. The relaying of their lord's words earned him a hurried nod, no doubt they felt the same as himself when it came to their lord's safety.

Stepping to the woman with no concern for his own safety to ensure this was taken care of before their lord grew too restless and took matters into his own hands, the secondary driver spoke quickly and quietly, eventually nodding and returning to the group.

"She claims to be here to speak with Tsukiyomi-Sama. She speaks of him as Naruto, which is a good sign, but check with Tsukiypomi-Sama to verify they know each other and she can be trusted."

"Did she give a name?"

"No, but she said he would understand 'Mother Crow'."

The Wolf that relayed Naruto's wishes gave a quick nod before returning to the side of the carriage.

"My lord?" The curtains opened once more- he hadn't noticed they were shut and it comforted him to know his lord was taking steps to remain safe when he could easily discard the urgings of his Wolves- and Tsukiyomi of the House of Wolves peered out.

"Yes, my child?"

"She claims to be here to speak with you. She didn't give us her name, but she did say you would know 'Mother Crow'.

A smile tugged at Naruto's lips.

"Ah, yes, that could only be one person. She is welcome among us, bring her here so we can continue on our way."

"Yes, my lord." That eased him somewhat. Even if they didn't know who would be meeting with their lord he did and he trusted them enough to allow them in his presence. He'd rather the two not be alone together hidden from view but he didn't have much choice in the matter.

There was also the fact that his lord was a young man and his visitor obviously a woman. Considering he didn't know the relationship between the two, maybe it was better that the Wolves not be able to see the two of them in the carriage.

It only took a moment to retrieve the woman- this Mother Crow, perhaps, though it very well could be a simple phrase to confirm her identity to Lord Tsukiyomi. Maybe she was a spy of his lord's?- for she seemed quite eager to see Tsukiyomi.

When he returned to the carriage once more he knocked thrice before opening the door and allowing the woman to launch herself into the carriage. He tensed for only a split second before he realized she had wrapped herself around the young lord as she sat half in his lap.

It was starting to look like not being able to see the two interact was a good thing, he knew his lord enjoyed his privacy whenever possible and a situation like this seemed to call for more privacy than normal. Closing the door with a small smile- their lord seemed happy, if his warm chuckles were anything to go by- he went back to the front of the carriage to inform the others that they were to continue.

Back in the carriage Naruto wrapped both arms around his guest as she squeezed her own around his neck, her face buried into his chest much like the first time they had met. This time, however, her mask had remained on her face.

Removing one arm from around her, he lifted up her chin so he could remove the strange orange mask she was wearing. As soon as it was off she was once more pressing her face against him and her entire body seemed to relax.

"It's good to see you again, Mikoto-Chan. I take it you received my letter?" It was the most obvious explanation for her presence as he had informed her of his location within it. She had evidently seized the opportunity to pay him a visit, the first one they'd had in the past two years. Face still in his chest she gave a nod in the affirmative, her crow had returned with his letter before he left on his trip.

It had been hard to keep from visiting him immediately upon learning he was outside Konoha but with Ame being closer to the capital of Hi no Kuni than it was to Wave she decided to meet him there.

"I missed you, Naruto-Kun." The massacre of her clan left him- the son of her estranged friend- as the closest person she had and she latched onto the relationship with all her might, desperate not to lose all she had left.

That, of course, didn't mean she was completely reliant upon him or had any trouble exerting the fact that she was her own person, as shown when she pulled back and punched him in the shoulder with a pout that looked out of place- but not unpleasant- upon a woman of her age.

"That was for sneaking that money into my pouch when I told you I was fine." She leaned back in and gave his cheek a kiss. "And that was for the money, it made things a lot easier."

"I'm happy to hear it, how have things been in Ame?"

She pouted again, though he could barely see it.

"Wet."

He didn't even try to resist the smile that spread across his lips. She sounded like a child despite, quite literally, being old enough to be his mother. He supposed that with everyone else gone and her hiding from Konoha he was the only one she could allow herself to relax and be vulnerable around.

It was kind of cute.

"That so?"

She looked up at him, the same mischievous glint he had seen so many times in Anko's eyes shimmering in her own black orbs, as her lips curved upwards in a small smirk.

"Yep, that's right."

"Hmm, I would never have guessed. It must be horrible."

"Uh-huh, it was. During the summer winds from Hi no Kuni make everything all hot and muggy, so I can't wear much more than my cloak because it's too heavy and in the winter it's so cold that I have no choice but to wear my cloak." She looked down at the black cloak covered in red clouds she was currently wearing with a scowl. "I hate this damn cloak. If it hugged my body I could deal with it but it just blocks my clothes from view so no one can appreciate just how great I look."

His smile widened, he hadn't spent much time with the woman but she was like a cross between Mai's affection and Anko's fun personality, almost like the best of both.

"And do you look great?" She directed her scowl at him but it quickly melted to another pout. Standing up- which she could barely do within the carriage- she unclasped the cloak and let it fall to the ground, where she kicked it to the seat across form him. That didn't have his attention as much as her clothes did.

Black jeans hugged her lower body tightly but what stood out the most was her top- or lack thereof. It would seem right now it was getting cold enough for her to wear more beneath her Akatsuki uniform but not enough for her to wear anything but a black bra over her chest.

She gave a little twirl which would have been disastrous if they had hit a bump in the road before he realized she was answering his question and waiting to hear his opinion.

"I suppose you do, maybe I should start hating that cloak too." She beamed at him before returning to sit beside him, pressing herself as closely as she could as his arm wrapped around her waist. It had been two years since she had last had contact with another person- a decision on her part more than something forced upon her, though admittedly affected by the fact that she was now in Akatsuki- and she intended to both make up for it and get her fill before she had to leave.

Smiling down at the woman and couldn't help but think that his trip was already looking to be far better than the last.

He had been wanting the company of Mai, but a Mikoto worked just as well.

* * *

 **Thus concludes the chapter. I'm going say this right now, before the reviews start, that the bit about Orochimaru in relation to Hi no Kuni has been cut EXTREMELY short. I could go on for the better part of a standard chapter without too much difficulty talking about the full explanations and reasons behind the Daimyo's attitude towards Orochimaru and Konoha as a whole but I know most of you won't like that.**

 **I tried to make it short and concise, but that still leaves it rather lacking. For the sake of the story and my readers, however, I have chosen not to focus on it and allow you all to follow the plot- what little of it there may be.**

 **I look forward to seeing you all next chapter.**


	36. Raven's Son

**Fuck yeah! We actually have an update on time this week, even though I sent it to ncp latter than usual. Started this one earlier than normal too, so I'm still not entirely sure how it's always done on the same day, but regardless we seem to be pretty lucky this week**

 **Before** **we start, there is something I should address.**

 **I keep getting questions about or recommendations to change the name of my story and while I'm not going to, I felt I should probably take a moment to explain why.**

 **The thing most often pointed out is how little Naruto uses SealKeeper [His seal, if you hadn't gathered] despite it being the name of the story. I'll say it now- the story is not about his seal. The story is about Naruto as he leads the Wolves. None of that would be possible, however, without his seal.**

 **SealKeeper can be attributed to just about everything that's happened to him since the beginning of the story. It allowed him to connect to Mito, it started his trouble with the Yamanaka and secured a valuable ally within the Hyuuga, and without it he wouldn't have the Wolves. Because of that, one may think of the name as tribute.**

 **Of course, there's also a second reason for the name. Naruto is Mito's warden, the keeper of her seal. SealKeeper is as the name of his seal as it is his identity. As this story is about him and has been shaped undeniably by his possession of such a valuable tool, the name remains quite appropriate.**

 **Having spoken of the first part, let's move to the second. 'He Who Binds' is a part of the name both because his chakra chains physically bind things and due to the bonds he's creating between himself and various groups. Everything is coming together around him, he is the one binding it all together around him.**

 **That said, if you want to suggest a better description, I'm all ears. Mine works, but I was also eager to have the story posted. Considering I didn't know exactly where this story was heading it was mainly meant to be a placeholder and I'm surprised I've kept it this long.**

 **The boring stuff finished, thanks goes to ncpfan for all his help with the story.**

 **On with this week's act!**

* * *

She walked cautiously down the halls of her home, footfalls light and silent. It wasn't long ago she would confidently strut down these very paths, certain of the safety provided her by her standing within the clan. Back then she knew that as the daughter of the clan head she had a target on her back, she just didn't think those who might strike the target were so close.

Or so many.

Kumo had always been after the Byakugan and Iwa would be happy to strike against Konoha's greatest clan.

Never before had she ever entertained the idea that danger might come from not just within her village, but from her own clan- the very clan she was expected to lead when her father stepped down.

She knew better now, knew that pieces were moving on a board she couldn't see. She was no longer a player of the game, just another square that would fall beneath the movements of those who were. That left her with two options, she could vacate the board or be crushed.

She was often described as arrogant and self-centered, but she was no fool.

She needed to get out.

Plans had been made, scrapped, and planned again, as she sought some way to avoid this mess without losing everything she had. Either way the loses would be great, but her life wouldn't be one of them.

If her father and the elders somehow managed to stop the cult that had formed within the clan, ready to strike, then she would be able to return to a broken, failing clan for none of the branch members would be left alive in fear of another uprising.

If the cult her sister led won, however, her fate could be anything from death to something far, far worse. She was not willing to test the tender mercies of those she had happily tormented using her status and curse seal against.

As was previously said, she was no fool.

No matter what happened further involvement with her clan would end in disaster she couldn't face alone. Nor could she hope to face the outside world alone. She was too sheltered, not from the world of Shinobi and the horrors it involved, but in the day to day living of everyday people. She would never be able to fit in after being taken care of servants for years.

She also knew the safest place for her was still in Konoha, which meant she couldn't leave the village entirely. Somehow she needed to get out of the clan without arousing too much suspicion and set herself up within Konohagakure. That alone wouldn't guarantee she get out of this mess, but it was her greatest chance by far.

Setting herself up, however, meant she had to find some way to protect herself and those she brought with her from her soon to be former clan. She needed, as much as she hated to admit it, someone to protect her.

It was a pity she was still too young for marriage, as arraigning something with the easily controlled Nara heir or the mature Aburame heir would have been a viable option. Even the jovial Akimichi wouldn't be too hard for her to accept if it meant her safety.

The Uchiha didn't have an actual clan these days, the son of the Inuzuka head was unsuitable as the husband of a noble woman such as herself, and the Yamanaka couldn't provide the protection she needed.

The Uzumaki had potential, she supposed, if the head could get her son back into the clan a marriage with him could offer more protection than the others. He may not be as easily manipulated as the Nara or simple as the Aburame but even the somewhat wild nature of the Uzumaki was better than the Inuzuka prince. It certainly helped that from what she had heard of him he was more calm and collected than Uzumaki of the past tended to be.

That said, he wasn't' available and marriage wasn't' an option yet. She could always add it to the end of her plans, but she would need something to protect her until she could enact them.

Pale eyes scanning around her for threats again she was quick to deactivate them when she came to the dining room of the main family. It was considered rude to have them activated during a meal and her father would start asking questions that would further tie her to this mess. It didn't stop her from taking a quick look around the dining room, however.

Her father sat calmly at the head of the table nursing his morning tea, as usual, and besides a single branch member off in a side room tending to the food from the neighboring kitchens the room was empty. Her sister, though officially a branch member, was sometimes seen at the table both because she was his daughter, branch or not, and because he hoped she might eventually slip and let loose some hint as to how she had escaped the branding.

The elders were still more than a little nervous that the seal didn't take but in their shortsightedness didn't realize that it was more than fate decreeing her free from that bond but that it mean the bonds themselves were soon to be loosened from those who followed her.

Civil war was being threatened and yet they couldn't look past the single event and see the signs in the future.

Bu that was good, she supposed, they wouldn't expect her to bolt the second they received sign of trouble and would therefore be unable to stop her.

That is, if she managed to put something together.

Her sister wasn't' here this morning, though, either eating with branch members, holding a meeting of her cult, or simply not yet here. She honestly didn't know what she would have preferred to be the case.

She and her sister had certainly had their differences, but did the girl hold that against her? She always seemed to kind and caring for such, in fact, she didn't seem suited to a cult at all. If that was the case, were the Wolves the real one's in charge?

That-

That was an option.

She couldn't go to them directly, of course, but Naruto, the former Uzumaki prince, was tied to them somehow. If she could get protection through him then it wouldn't even matter whether or not he returned to the Uzumaki clan because a marriage with his would still grant her protection form the Wolves.

And if it were the Wolves controlling in some way the cult of Hinata no Mikoto- which would make sense considering her sister's ties to Naruto- then by having their protection she could avoid the wrath of the branch family when they rose up.

It was perfect, should it work.

If Hinata had something against her, or if Naruto didn't want to help her, she would have to risk the Wolves themselves. What were the chances of her being silenced as a mere precaution? She shivered slightly even as she entered the dining room. She didn't even want to think about what might happen should they deem it too risky to let her live.

Death would once again be a pleasant fate- there were plenty of ways to make people disappear.

She was no Neji but perhaps fate itself had a hand in her latest thoughts. First warned and now directed to her best chance of surviving the coming storm. Almost as if to solidify such a belief as soon as she had taken her seat her sister entered the room- a connection to her salvation just as she was the key to her destruction.

It was a humbling thought to know fate was using her sister to determine her future. Even if the older girl wasn't fate's chosen as the branch family seemed to believe she couldn't deny that her fate was now tied to her sister, the same sister she had belittled and tormented just like the other branch members.

It would serve as a lesson that fate was above all and would work in ways they couldn't hope to know. Despite its plans for you each and every action could change which path it sent you down. Perhaps it was a bad idea to place herself above others when they were all below fate. For favored or not, she didn't know what role those around her were to perform and the best way to anger fate was to somehow interfere with its plans.

Those plans couldn't be stopped, all that fate decreed would come to pass, but that did not mean any actions taken that could affect it wouldn't bring its displeasure down upon you.

Fate was more than willing to punish you even if it disrupted other plans. It would adapt soon enough, stealing away whatever path you were to walk and instead cursing your very existence as a warning to any others.

Seeing her sister brought just how close she may have been to disrupting fate's plan she had really been.

She'd have to be more careful from now on.

No one spoke as her sister silently took her place at the table, her father didn't even look at her. She, however, watched carefully. Her sister was tied too closely to both the future of the clan and her own fate for her not to and the trademark pale eyes of their clan searched her sister's face almost desperately to help her get a feel of her current mood.

Like a proper Hyuuga- something that couldn't have been used to describe her before the failed branding- her face remained carefully controlled. The eyes, however, were not so easily influenced. Many had trouble reading the all-seeing eyes of their noble clan but those born with the Hyuuga blood came to identify tells of the Byakugan's deactivated state almost as well as they could normal eyes.

Her sister was at peace.

And she didn't know what to make of it.

There was a mix of confidence and worry, but both were overshadowed by a serenity that shouldn't have been able to exist in their presence. She knew of trouble, accepted it, and felt that she would be able to deal with it. For one dreading such events, positioned opposite in this great game, it was not comforting.

It was then, at that very moment, that Hyuuga Hanabi, heiress of the great and noble Hyuuga clan of Konohagakure no Sato knew- whatever the coming conflict- her sister would emerge victorious.

The belief that she needed to escape was only solidified and a flare of desperation pushed her to ensure her survival as quickly as possible.

That desperation, however, would not be seen.

"I haven't heard much of your friend lately, Hinata-San." Hanabi's voice was calm and controlled, despite the nervous knot in her stomach and rapidly beating heart. Maybe doing this in front of her father wasn't such a good idea. "Is he laying low now or just waiting for his next move?"

Her sister's eyes snapped to her so quickly she nearly jumped back in surprise. Evidently she had not been expecting for the former Uzumaki prince to be brought up. Neither, one might note, was her father, who, after a suspicious look to her, gazed questioningly at his first born.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hanabi-Sama. Naruto is a very private person and tries his best to avoid attention."

"Yes, but he received quite a bit of attention when he declared you under his protection and went against the Yamanaka. I hear they're still recovering."

While the eldest sister tried to come up with something to say in response, their father seemed to look at her for the first time, as though something hadn't clicked until just then.

"He did declare that, didn't he?" The clan head seemed almost troubled by the thought, not that Hanabi knew why. It was likely it somehow involved the Uzumaki clan, though. "And the Yamanaka did indeed find themselves in a rather poor condition afterwards."

She hadn't expected any input from her father, as he usually preferred to silently observe any discussion- rare as they were- between his two daughters. It could, however, work to her favor.

"A-ah, yes, he did." Hinata had been doing better lately, the lack of expectations on her shoulders as clan heir giving her more confidence than she once had, but now she was caught off-guard and Hanabi was well aware there were things about Naruto she knew but needed to keep silent about.

Those truths, unfortunately, would actually be detrimental to her own plans should they come to life. Therefore, despite the fact that she could get her sister to spill them without too much trouble, Hanabi made sure to avoid anything about the group he may or may not have ties to.

"The Yamanaka wouldn't have stood a chance against our clan, but did we ever show him the due appreciation for coming to the defense of one of its members?" This was directed more towards her father than her sister but she continued to look across the table as if it weren't.

Her father, as expected, was the one to answer.

"No, we didn't. It didn't seem something to concern ourselves with at the time but he did stand against an entire clan for the sake of our blood." He made no mention of what had happened to the clan he stood against, but it was clear he was still thinking about it. "It's rather shameful, actually, to think I have not so much as met him two years afterwards."

He paused in thought, his tea forgotten on the table. There was no doubt that his thoughts were directed towards the returned Uzumaki clan and their new vassals the Yamanaka. More than that, his thoughts were on young Naruto's connection to them.

"Hinata."

"Y-yes, Hiashi-Sama?" Hanabi only barely caught the wince of her father when he was addressed like that by his eldest daughter.

"Can you get into contact with Naruto-San for me?"

"H-hai, Hiashi-Sama, but it may take some time."

He rose a brow.

"And why would that be?"

"Ah- Naruto-San is currently outside the village on leave. He doesn't have a team so he's got a lot of freedom."

"I see, do you know when he'll get back?"

"N-no, but it's been a while so he should be back soon." Their father ignored the slightly hopeful expression on the girl's face. It was obvious she wanted to see the boy again.

"Very well, as soon as you hear word that he's back I want you to contact him."

"Of course, Hiashi-Sama but, um, can I ask why?"

"We need to thank him properly, of course." He turned to his youngest daughter. "You, Hanabi, will make preparations for a dinner to be held once we learn he's returned. It will be good practice for when you take the mantle of clan head."

Hanabi inclined her head gracefully.

"As you say, Tou-Sama."

He nodded to himself before looking back to his tea. With a frown he tested the cold tea before returning it to the table and standing up.

"I should be getting to today's work, remember your tasks." He left the room after that, despite having not eaten yet.

Her father gone, Hanabi let a small smirk tug her lips. Yes, that worked out better than she could have hoped. A formal dinner would provide an opportunity to observe the boy and, with a little luck, make contact. If she could get him alone for just a few moments she might be able to arrange a later meeting to obtain the protection she was going to need.

Her sister, on the other hand, seemed dreadfully confused by the sudden development. At the same time, the idea of spending time with the boy seemed to please her. Had this been any other situation Hanabi- and quite possibly Hinata as well- knew that the eldest would not be present for the dinner.

But with her being in part the reason for the event and because she was the one who knew how to get ahold of Naruto- who had proven rather elusive within a village of Shinobi- she would be permitted to join. If her Mark was gone, like the first one, it would be another point in her favor. Unfortunately, the second one had just stopped working which meant her forehead was still marred by the seal.

She'd have to find some way to cover it for the dinner, but that was none of her problem.

Still pleased, Hanabi almost didn't notice when the food was served nor did she care about the confusion of the branch member at the absence of her father.

It would seem fate was finally starting to bring its plans together.

She might get out of this yet.

* * *

"I have your mask." He murmured quietly, his left hand brushing through her midnight hair. Sunset had not long passed but it would be a few hours more before they stopped to rest the horses. With her curled into his side as she was, he wondered if he'd even bother leaving the carriage when they stopped.

She moved only slightly at the sound of his voice. Had he not been able to feel the movement he wouldn't have even noticed.

"My mask?" Her orange porcelain mask was atop her cloak in the seat across from them. Looking up to him, bleary eyed from a recent nap- as there wasn't much to do in the carriage but talk or sleep- she searched his face as though it held all the answers.

"Your ANBU mask."

"Oh." She accepted it easily enough, turning back into his warmth as she settled down to sleep again. "Oh!" Her sleep-addled brain processed what he said, her eyes once more turning to meet his with a mix of surprise and delight. "Really?"

"Really. It's back in Wave." She pouted slightly that he didn't have it now- most ANBU, regardless of time spent in the division, became rather attached to what they liked to call their second face- but it quickly morphed into a pensive frown.

"How did you get it? We would have seen it when we packed for my journey, wouldn't we?"

"You left it outside and I was more concerned about the woman sobbing in my arms. Kakashi picked it up for us and used the daughter of his client to send it to me when they were in Wave."

She blinked a few times as she processed the important parts.

"The daughter of his client?"

"Oh yeah, Tsunami is an attractive civilian whose home his team stayed in for the duration of the mission. I ended up giving her a job working with Hana-San."

"Hana-San, huh? Is she attractive as this Tsunami?" A single elegant brow rose in question. Most men would be very careful about what they said next in this situation. Naruto, however, was not most men.

Scratching his chin in honest contemplation, he eventually shrugged.

"I don't know. Tsunami is a woman with the curves to match but she also has the softness of a civilian. Hana on the other hand is a young Kunoichi and her body shows it."

"So if you had to choose just one, who would you keep?" One might note by the tone of her voice that this was a trick question and the proper response would have been her. Regardless, Naruto answered.

"Hana, of course." A faint smile tugged at the edge of his lips and there was a mischievous glint in his eye. He had, naturally, recognized the question for what it was. As she began frowning he continued. "She is leading my country, after all."

Her frown became a pout.

"How am I supposed to be jealous if you put it like that?" She asked, earning a soft chuckle.

"You're not supposed to be jealous." He admonished her. "Those two aren't about to take you away from me."

It should have been said the other way around, stealing him from her, but it still gave off two messages very plainly. Neither of them would be leaving for others and, more importantly, he was the one who possessed her. The first thought she found comforting and the second blossomed warmth within her chest.

It was not because she wanted to be thought of as belonging to him, but because he recognized her as being there for him. As far as she was concerned she was his new mother, no matter what anyone- even he- might say, and in taking care of him she would be able to heal her own damaged heart and give purpose to the life from which everything she cared about was stolen.

He needed her, and so she would be there for him, a guardian angel to look after the boy who had grown up too fast.

"Those two? Are there others you aren't telling me about, Naruto-kun? Don't hold out on Karasu Kaa-Chan now, tell me everything."

"Others? As in other women? Well, I suppose there's Yugao-Sensei, though she doesn't want me to call her that anymore, Anko-San, Kurenai-San, Mai-Chan, Shizune-San, and perhaps Ino-San. Ah, can't forget Hinata-San, she's doing things for me in the Hyuuga clan right now."

"Oh? Is my little Naruto really surrounded by so many women?"

"I see them from time to time, that's not exactly being surrounded by them."

She hummed her agreement but pressed on.

"So, how far have you got with them?"

Naruto raised a brow.

"Come on, something has to have happened, right? An accidental grope, an eyeful they hadn't intended for you to get, a peck on the cheek?"

"I already told you you're not going to be replaced, why does it matter?"

"Akatsuki's full of S-rank criminals, not exactly somewhere I can be out seeking romance-" A slight growl rumbled in his chest at the idea of someone else getting their hands on what was quite clearly his and Mikoto had to admit it was probably a good thing she didn't get any chances to start relationships. Not that she was particularly interested in one, at the moment, but it would seem as though he wasn't too keen on losing her to another. Of course, she was Uchiha Mikoto, she couldn't blame him. "-Which means you'll have to have relationships for the both of us."

She frowned for a second before smiling wickedly.

"Or maybe not relationships." She amended. "You could always just go have some fun and tell me about it, that would be good enough for me."

He shot her a look. She was definitely channeling more of her Anko half right now.

"Maybe you'd like pictures instead? Perhaps I should just record visits to brothels for you to use during your private time?"

Her cheeks flushed red as she hit him gently.

"That's naughty, Naruto-Kun, I'm not going to use you during my, erm…private time."

"Then who are you going to use?" He rose both eyebrows, looking down at her expectantly with that mischievous glint back in his eyes.

She really didn't have an answer for that and so she buried herself back into his side with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So that's how it's going to be? You get to hear about what I do but I don't get to know about you? That's hardly fair, Mikoto-Chan."

"Not like you've told me anything." She mumbled, face still red.

"Does that mean you'll tell me if I share?"

"No."

He gave another chuckle.

"Well, in that case, I guess I won't tell you."

"You don't have anything to tell me, you're too busy taking over countries."

"I suppose you're right, not much has happened back in Konoha. Though I could probably get a cute attendant back in Nami to change that, I'm sure they'd be happy to serve their Daimyo."

Mikoto frowned.

"You're too young for that, keep it to touching until you're older."

"Are you my mother now?"

She answered immediately, absolutely no hesitation.

"Yes."

He rose a brow but didn't argue.

"Alright then."

The conversation ended there, silence spreading throughout the carriage. It was a few minutes later Mikoto's soft voice gently broke it.

"C-can you-" Whatever she meant to say was lost as she mumbled into his side.

"Can I what, Mikoto-Chan?"

"Can you call me Kaa-Chan?"

Naruto smiled gently down at her before placing a kiss atop her head.

"Of course, Kaa-Chan."

Despite the darkness outside, her beaming smile lit up the carriage.

"Thank you, Sochi."

* * *

Cold seeped from the walls and through the thin black shirt he wore. He probably should have been wearing more, especially in the cellar-like construct that was their base, but he never particularly cared to cover his torso- too restrictive, he had always felt.

He was used to the cold though, he had lived in this country for most of his life and spent the rest of it traveling with the last remaining Hyouton user in the world. It was only natural he would become accustomed to the biting lack of warmth. The numbness that spread over exposed flesh was like an old friend and he was especially grateful for it when injured.

Fortunately, he wasn't injured right now- not anymore. The weeks had gone slow at first but as he healed he was able to make better time until he returned to where he could receive better treatment. Admittedly, it wasn't much better than his apprentice could do, but at least they weren't trying to recover while on the move anymore.

One had to be thankful for small miracles.

The shuffling of feet caught his attention and he lifted his head to watch people leave the room whispering quietly about the last meeting. He didn't move from his spot against the wall- arms crossed over his broad chest- as several dozen members of the higher command structure exited the room through the door on his left.

Their number was always a curiosity- why have so many? They weren't a large group by any means, having so many in charge and closely involved with their plans was a bad idea that always set him on edge. It was like she was asking for something to go wrong, for some spy or sympathizer to make it into the vast upper echelons to have unrestricted access to information that was too critical, too valuable to loose.

Then again, he wasn't in charge, it wasn't his fight or his goal they were trying to achieve. He couldn't care less if the bloodlines were wiped out here or if they were worshiped as a sign of godhood. He wasn't here for the bloodline resistance, he was here for her, their leader- Terumi Mei.

And that's why he was concerned.

"Please tell me you were only throwing out ideas." His voice was gruff and impersonal, belaying how much he cared for the woman he grew up with, but that's how it normally was. Few could truly claim to know the slight variation in his words, the subtle change in voice, that might indicate what he was really feeling behind the persona he had made for himself with the blood of hundreds.

Some might consider it a disadvantage in their life, being known as a monster, but he preferred being a beast, it was better than being dead or, worse, being weak.

He would never be weak again.

But that didn't stop him from caring, and she knew it. Even so, she acted as though she didn't understand his meaning and maybe, just maybe, she didn't. There couldn't be too many who really knew when they had only just emerged from the shadows.

Fewer still would understand.

"I was, but it's a good one. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise." A single delicate brow rose in challenge, one to which he had no problems rising.

"It's not a good one, it's a risk, a foolish one. You know nothing about them, you can't expect to be able to deal with them."

"I can deal with them the same way we've dealt with other similar groups- money. They're mercenaries, it's what they do."

"What they do is whatever Tsukiyomi commands."

"Tsukiyomi?" Ah, yes, he never did get to a full report on Wave, did he? Not that it would matter now, he could already tell she had made up her mind and there was precious little that could ever hope to change it.

It was another thing he liked about her- she was just as stubborn as he was.

"The Alpha, it's his pack."

"So I just need to convince him to have the Wolves aid us."

"Good luck."

Her eyes narrowed at his words and the dismissive scoff that followed. Obviously he saw some flaw- real or imaginary- in her plan.

"What, don't think I can do it? We have Warlords from as far as Suna's deserts fighting for our cause because of me, some for free and still others who are providing additional services to us without charge. I'm sure I can arrange something with a new mercenary group."

"They aren't that young, they've been around for a couple years."

"Then why am I just hearing about them now?"

"They've been careful, biding their time and growing in strength until they could move to a true global scale."

"That makes them new."

"No, it makes them smart. You hear of them now because they just emerged in the global game. The only problem is that they've had time to settle. This isn't a newbie group working to get power at a global scale, scrambling for influence- this is an established group that's grown strong enough to go global. There's a big difference."

"And that means they'll reject my offer? The chance to ally themselves with the future leadership of Kirigakure isn't one to pass up lightly."

"What you should worry about isn't it being rejected, you should worry about them accepting. Everything they do is what Tsukiyomi commands, and he doesn't act without a reason. If he helps us it's because our efforts align with his plans- I guarantee it. The only other reason he would do something would be opportunity, and if that happens he'll adjust his plans to take advantage of it- take advantage of _us._ "

"That's how alliances work, both working together to reach their goals. We're offering to pay for their services, there's no reason for them to go against us." The same Warlords that had aligned themselves with the rebellion had mentioned the group. Some had hired them before, others had faced them. Those who faced them, unfortunately, were rare. Not many go out and those who did didn't so much as get out as they were let out. Only in situations where the goal had something to do with territory or control could one hope to avoid the Wolves' merciless teeth.

Only two of the dozen Warlords- almost exclusively small groups numbering no more than three dozen men each- had ever been on the opposite side of the Wolves. And that's exactly why she had decided they were a group they needed the help of. Those who had hired mercenaries that were successful were always able to tell you they worked well, but it was hearing it from those they worked against that held real value.

"They don't need a reason, he does. We don't know what he's after, letting his forces anywhere near our own is asking for trouble."

"You're being too paranoid."

"And you far too willing to trust them." He countered with a growl. "They slaughtered Gato and his men on Tsukiyomi's command before proclaiming Nami no Kuni as under their protection. This is the same group that had been serving as Gato's elite enforcers. They can claim it's protection, but we both know they killed Gato to take control of the country. What's to stop them from doing the same here, from helping us gain the village back only to slaughter our exhausted comrades and establish dominion over a hidden village?"

"Gato used thugs, we all know that. We have an army of Shinobi and the risk would be much higher. People like him avoid risks because they fear losing their power. If something goes wrong it's too easy for their men to abandon them."

"That's the problem, he doesn't need to be afraid. His forces are all ANBU level and fiercely loyal, some to the point of fanatical devotion. We're a ragtag group of rebels. Our will is strong but our forces are average. If we had numbers we'd be fine, if we had power we'd be fine, but we have neither, that's the reason you're looking for allies in the first place."

"And if they're that skilled we need to get to them before Yagura does. It's a risk, yes, but one I'm willing to take. This could be the difference between victory or defeat."

"Maybe," He acknowledged as he stood up from the wall and turned to leave. "But will it be that alliance which you so desperately seek that causes our defeat?"

He was gone then, leaving her in the empty room.

"I don't know, Zabuza." She admitted quietly. "I really don't know."

But what else could they do?

* * *

 **I look forward to seeing you all in the audience next week for act XXXVII.**


	37. Three that Survived

**I feel like there was something I was going to say during the AN, but I really can't remember it and I have a preorder waiting to be picked up so I'll keep this short.**

 **The first scene, as many often do, got away from me and took the chapter with it, but it's not too far off from what I had planned and lets me wrap up with the spies. [Though I do wonder if I would have been able to stretch their story over several chapters...]**

 **The last two scenes I hadn't planned but I like how they turned out. They were originally to be a scene involving either Inoichi or the assembled Konoha council but I suppose there's always next week.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

The dense fog felt more like freezing smoke as it danced to avoid the light drizzle of this exceedingly dreary country. He had to choke down a shuddering breath of frigid air lest he break down into a fit of coughing at the unsettling feeling of the moist air. Too used to the warm, dry air of the eastern forests they were, and thus had been caught off guard by just how horrible this place felt.

The cold darkness enveloped this land, constantly pushing inwards with great banks of fog and gusts of mist. Rain was a constant companion and it was a rare day indeed one could hang their clothes outside to dry. The perpetual moisture played havoc on supplies and structures alike, forcing the people to adapt or lose everything to rot and decay.

And yet, as far as they could tell, those people were happy. Perhaps it said something that the conditions of the country brought them all together and made the contrasting light of the shipping town shine even brighter. Despite the cold, the village proper actually seemed warm, though they all knew it wasn't.

Still, sitting in the light surrounded by people happy to escape the land in which they lived sounded better than crouching amongst the bushes and hiding behind trees. Unfortunately he didn't have much choice and neither did his companions. There was little they could learn within the town proper, the cocoon of light still playing host almost exclusively to the civilians. It would be a few years yet, they suspected, before the town grew large enough that they might be able to infiltrate it and gather information in the preferred manner- Sitting in a nice, warm bar with a bottle of heated sake and plenty of beautiful women to keep one's eyes busy.

Now he was just setting himself up for misery. There was no limit to this mission, it could stretch on for years if need be. They had already been here for a few days as it was and he couldn't imagine staying for more than a week. Well, actually, he could, just not the way they were now. In a rented room- which would be chosen based on its proximity to the bar he had been dreaming of earlier. If the two were part of the same building all the better- he could probably stay here indefinitely.

The dreary weather made the town seem rather small and cozy, a refuge from all the world around it. Despite it being a shipping town and, if what they had observed was any indication, one that was well on its way to reclaiming its place as the trade capital of the world, it felt isolated- a Shinobi's dream retirement. The fact that it was going to be back to its former glory somewhat subtracted from its attractiveness as a prospect, but it was still better than a lot of places.

The crowds and large amount of people constantly fluctuation in and out would also provide some cover even if it increased the chances of running into someone hostile. You'd be surprised just how many enemies a man could make on a mission gone awry as a rookie Chuunin.

Thoughts like that were kept fairly quiet, however, as adrift in a sea of fog and pelted by the continuous drizzle of midnight rain the town was looking more and more like salvation, a port to escape a storm. Actually, it was very much a safe harbor, he supposed, both for incoming ships who usually had to go all the way from Northern Kaze no Kuni or Southwestern Kaminari no Kuni and around the continent to reach it and for weary travelers who had found themselves within these dreary lands.

A sigh escaped his lips, sending small tendrils of warm air through the scarf wrapped tightly around his lower face. There was no use thinking about it now, it would only make things seem worse out here. Bringing his binoculars back to his face, he scanned the far edges of the shore across from them. The waterway wasn't that large but it served as a natural barrier between the main area of Nami no Kuni and the outlying borders. As such, patrols tended to focus on the inner side leaving little more than border guards around the country.

They could probably get closer- they had tested the inner patrols earlier and it proved to be possible, though difficult- but there was more security to be had with the increased distance. In a mission like this it was absolutely critical to minimize the chances of being discovered. As it was there were already risking the wrath of two countries and a hidden village not only upon themselves, but upon their families and loved ones- the same loved ones who would believe them traitors should they never return and might still depending on how long they were away.

It was unthinkable to add to that belief with two angered Daimyo and a furious Kage. Or, possibly two Daimyo. No one knew what happened to the last one and as far as they had heard there wasn't another yet. Still, one Kage and the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni was more than enough deterrent to ensure they take every precaution they could to avoid being caught.

Speaking of the Daimyo that may or may not exist, however, there was word of an acting ruler within the town. Enough had been overheard from passing groups of traders to confirm that someone- a woman, from what they heard- had been placed in charge. Unfortunately, that's where their luck with information ended. No description aside from 'attractive' seemed to be available. A few had commented on a young age, but that could be anywhere from twelve to twenty and perhaps a bit further. Even a name escaped them completely, referred to only in the impersonal third person as the Governor.

Then again, they really didn't expect to get even that much listening to visiting traders. It wasn't like they were in a position where they would meet this new leader but it did shed a little bit of light on the countries situation. The guards of this land- confirmed as Wolves- wouldn't be answering to whatever governor had taken position here. Either their leader was working alongside this governor who would be managing civilians as cover for the military operations of the Wolves or this governor was appointed by the Wolves. It wouldn't hold long without a Daimyo, but it would serve to buy them some time and that mean the Wolves were working on getting someone into that position to secure their control.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

A flash of lightning in the far distance caught the corner of his eye as the binoculars began to fall with his weary arm. With an annoyed sigh he returned them fully to his eyes just as the crinkle of thunder reached his ears. It must have been a great distance away, judging by the volume alone, probably a storm over the ocean. A sudden gust hit him, pelting the group with even heavier raindrops that felt more like metal pellets than water. A storm- the same one out to sea, no doubt- was moving closer.

From what had already been observed it would probably hit the town within the next hour and it was likely to clear no sooner than noon the following day. It would provide excellent cover for them but it would also kill their sight and make navigation near impossible. They were going to have to call it quits soon or they had as much chance or returning to tonight's camp as they did walking headlong into a group of patrolling Wolves.

With that in mind- and dreaming of the warm sleeping bag he had splurged on before the trip- he returned to the task at hand. They needed more information for the night to have been worth it and he'd rather not have wasted his time out here in the rain when as it was he was only going to get a few scant hours of sleep before they had to move camp again.

He briefly scanned through the town to his left before moving to the northern forests but he paused, returning to the town. Previously they had seen movement in the forests, primarily villagers working at the makeshift dump where they stored the waste from their restoration projects to be shipped out by one of the few boats that was allowed under the bridge, so it held most of their attention tonight in hopes of seeing something that might not otherwise be visible during daylight hours, but a familiar sight in the town caught his attention.

Three men and three dogs walked together down the street, not something that would normally draw attention. Bu these men were drunk, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders as they staggered away from a bar and the three dogs walked in step with each other to the side, perfectly synchronized and keeping a constant distance from the men.

They were trained dogs but, more than that, they possessed an abnormal intelligence. Dogs could be trained and quite well, but these animals were adjusting their paths to heard the three men to safety without once breaking from a group that moved together too perfectly.

Ninken.

It had to be, there was no other plausible explanation.

But why were they in Nami no Kuni?

A quick peek to his right showed one of his partners still peering out into the darkness of the forests. The third and last member of the group was between them both and farther east behind them, keeping a lookout for oncoming patrols. Contemplating a moment he decided that they weren't getting much from the forests with the fog where it was and spoke for the first time in hours.

"Inuzuka." It was more than sufficient to gain the attention of his fellow and even the lookout turned his head to see.

" _What_?!" The response was practically hissed as his companion flew to his side to confirm for himself. He understood how much of a shock it must have been, he was still trying to wrap his head around it. A part of him wryly noted that it was only natural that the dogs be allied to the Wolves but another didn't want to believe one of their fellow Konoha clans was allied with the group they couldn't think of as anything but the enemy.

Unfortunately, it was an undeniable truth. There was no other reason for there to be Inuzuka clansmen here in Nami no Kuni, a land controlled by the Wolves, so soon after Gatos' demise and just after Kakashi's team returned.

Even if they were trying to take advantage of the country- which didn't seem their style- it couldn't explain the fact that the Wolves were letting them. They had to be working together in some capacity.

He couldn't quite make out what his companion muttered under his breath but by the tone alone it was some sort of curse. He felt the thought matched his own opinion on the matter rather well. Another peak through his binoculars caught the reflection of neon lights upon the brow of one of the men, a headband proudly displayed. So, they weren't hiding it, then. If he could get a better look it might show a scratch declaring them rouge Shinobi, which would fit, but they could have had a mission nearby- though the chances were slim- leave was a possibility, though the location chosen still suspicious.

None of those felt right though, they only stopped upon meeting another group and even then nothing came of it. That pointed to it being not too out of the ordinary, which meant they were accepted here. That was more than suspicious. The two groups went their separate ways, the Inuzuka down a side street as the pother group moved to the north, light reflecting off headbands.

He froze in shock before leaning forward as if it would dramatically enhance what he was seeing. Yes, he hadn't imagined it. Three men- much like the group of Konoha Nin they had passed- all wearing headbands. Was Konoha doing something here? Was this a bid for control on behalf of the Leaf that was being kept under wraps?

The three paused outside a shop, two standing out in the rain as the third went inside. If only he turned just a little- there! It wasn't a Konoha leaf but a musical note. Hadn't there been talk about a new village of sound? But that was supposed to be further north, wasn't it? The borders were pretty close, he supposed, they could be trying to make connections or muscle in on the newly freed country.

But like the Inuzuka, the Wolves weren't pushing them out. It was odd.

The third came from the shop, bag in hand, and the three continued northwards to the forest. They passed the junkyard and the few still working there with casual waves and continued into the darkness. Another gust of wind- stronger this time- began dissipating the thick blanket of fog that hung over the chopping waters between them and the opposite shore. In the moonlight, what little forced itself through the blanket of black clouds, and the occasional flash of lightning- was it getting closer?- he could just barely make out the tops of trees. One in particular rose above the rest, oddly shaped and slightly cubic in its growth-

That wasn't a tree, it was scaffolding.

A break in the clouds allowed just enough additional light to provide a proper glimpse at the structure- a lattice of beams securely arranged in a circular manner, one point reaching higher than the others- but it only lasted a few seconds before the light vanished once more and the majority of the structure was consumed by the night.

Those few seconds were plenty of time to identify a tower in the making and that made him pause. It couldn't be, could it? No, that was absurd. Wave still wasn't fully stabilized, they wouldn't be trying something so soon, and certainly not with the Shinobi of other villages-

Unless they were trying to stabilize by creating their own hidden village.

It was a risky move, but it was possible and if pulled off could help them immensely. They had resources enough to support a Shinobi village- a small one for now, but they could probably support Konoha without too much trouble sometime in the future- and it would be a simple matter of enticing those of other small countries to send promising youth to learn here.

He shook his head at the thought, that still didn't fit- there were Shinobi of two villages here. If Konoha was really supporting another hidden village in an effort to gain favor or even some influence within Nami no Kuni more of their own Shinobi would have been informed. Having just one clan- and one known for their brashness at that- representing Konoha in this was far too suspicious. A mission like this would be considered primarily diplomatic and would be made of those who could arrange things in Konoha's favor as much as possible.

Unless Konoha was hoping to earn goodwill through brutal honesty, there was no reasonable explanation for the presence of Inuzuka clansmen.

A lighthouse was unlikely- it was too far north for that and would serve only to draw ships into the relatively narrow waterway that separated the main body of Nami no Kuni from the rest of the world- but a guard tower was still plausible. It was hidden from view, which was odd, but it didn't seem to be too far inwards. The trees might remain only until the tower's completion, hiding the construction and removed later to provide a better field of view, but it was also possible that they wanted the tower as hidden as possible and it would serve only to watch the distant shores, leaving the home shores to the many patrols that prowled them.

Of course, that was assuming it was a guard post, or that it was intended to only be guard tower. It could just as well serve as the new home of the Governor or barracks for the Wolves- though why they might need a tower eluded him- and it could even be a station for receiving messenger birds for all he knew. They would have to get closer if they wanted to discern its purpose, but that wasn't an option at the moment.

A crack of thunder split the air, much closer than it had been earlier. The storm was nearly upon them. Already the fog that snaked around their feet was being beaten back by the rain that was rapidly gaining weight. Some would survive, he knew, the cold would see to that, but most of it was going to be gone soon, even that which had blocked their view for so long. Unfortunately, the heavy rain served much the same purpose and kept them from being able to take advantage of the soon to be fogless night. A damn shame that, it would have been the perfect opportunity to learn more about the building.

Yet another rumble of thunder sounded around them, the mutterings of an angry god, and he took care to put away his binoculars. It was about time they called it a night, the fog wouldn't hide them any longer and they weren't used to operating in the heavy rain. It was just another disadvantage they couldn't afford at the moment.

He turned to relay his thoughts to his companions but his body was already bolting away.

There were some sounds one never forgets, sounds that have you reacting before you've even realized it. Most Shinobi knew this, it was a trait they all shared, and it was one of the many little things that truly showed one's experience in the field.

A blade to the throat made one such sound.

A civilian would never be able to hear it, an inexperienced Shinobi wouldn't recognize it for what it was, but he- he was far too familiar with it not to know exactly what it was, not to act immediately upon hearing it. Had the rain been even the tiniest bit louder, had thunder rumbled just half a second later than it did, he would've never known.

Even as he dashed down towards the chopping waters before him he turned his head to take stock of the situation. Their lookout had been captured, surrounded by three Wolves- a fourth nearby serving as their own lookout- and they didn't hesitate to start on him. Evidently they weren't taking any chances, grabbing the first one they could rather than silencing him and moving for the other two.

A fifth and sixth Wolf were on either side of his other companion, one removing his blade and the other pulling away the body to confirm the death, and he could feel a seventh Wolf speeding towards him.

' _He struck to early.'_ He noted wryly. ' _Lucky me.'_

Sometimes it was hard to remember that opponents were human too, even when one counted on such during plans. They weren't really human in that case, just numbers and information that reacted as such. There was always that separation, them and us, and it worked to your advantage just as often as it failed to.

He was painfully reminded of that fact now, he owed his life to the fact that a single mistake had been made by assailants he had been completely unaware of.

It was a humbling thought.

Only because the first Wolf acted before his companion was in position did he even have a chance of escaping with his life and, more importantly, bringing the information they had gathered back to the clan. But just as the Yamanaka would gain information from their actions, the Wolves had a chance to gain the same from the captured member of their team.

Yamanaka were good at resisting torture, but even they couldn't last forever and any sort of leak was unacceptable on a mission that didn't exist.

His eyes met that of his captured clanmate and only the slightest of nods was returned. It looks like there was no choice. Reaching under his shirt he tore away a slip of paper even as his other hand came into a half-ram seal. With a toss over his shoulder and a pulse of chakra three explosions lit up the clearing just as he dove into the water.

He had to get back to Hi no Kuni, back to the safety offered by Konohagakure no Sato, or their sacrifice would be for naught. It was a good thing the Wolves had stuck close to his companions, he knew he didn't have a chance of escaping them but even they couldn't have gotten away from the tags before they went off.

The short fuses had been chosen deliberately for this mission and even a Kawarimi wouldn't have been fast enough once they realized what was happening. He supposed that was their second mistake, and it would keep his clan form being tied to this event. He couldn't help but recognize how much lady luck had contributed to his 'success' tonight, despite them being caught off-guard.

Skill helped one predict and adapt but, as tonight demonstrated, skill wasn't everything.

With the apparent favor of Luck's Goddess he thanked the divine for his good fortune and the opportunity to salvage the mission.

Not once did he look back to where his clanmates had fallen or where the corpses of Wolves- or what remained of them- would be found before morning.

Perhaps that was his big mistake of the night, for it meant he never saw those who survived.

Those who still knew.

The water might wash away his scent, but the they already knew the location of his den-

And the Wolves were not known for their mercy.

* * *

The smoke hadn't fully cleared before the lookout started digging through his back, his ears still ringing from the explosions and his balance shot to hell. He slumped against a tree as the rain pounded against his bruised body. Already he could hear Wolves in the distance, all of them trying to find the source of the disturbance. Well, most of them, anyway. The chance of it being a distraction was too likely for them to all abandon their posts but the majority would have.

Idly, he wondered about bringing that up with the Commander. It might behoove them to have designated response teams for incidents like this, it wasn't good to weaken the other patrols any.

Then again, maybe that was a concussion talking, he didn't really know how bad he had been hit yet.

Fortunately he still knew which direction up was and the trigger of his flare gun was easy enough to understand. With a pull it screeched into the sky in a trail of red, drawing all those that had been alerted by the explosions. They were cautious, naturally, but still quick, a gathering of assorted groups that had all come together in this country under the command of Tsukiyomi-Sama.

Sober Inuzuka and their Ninken had paired up with the Wolves immediately as they began a search while the Shinobi under Orochimaru's command had taken combat positions around the complex they were building until they saw the emergency flare. As they were just across the waterway from his position they were some of the first to arrive en masse, only one patrol of Wolves having been closer to the position.

Working with surprising cohesion- perhaps due in part to the similarities between their masters, or so he had heard- the area was quickly secured and in under a minute there was a medic hovering over him. From the corner of his eye he could see another one- marked only by the thin fur trim on his armguards- kneeling by a lump near the water. If the yelling- which he couldn't quite understand yet- was any indication there was another survivor though his condition seemed much more severe than his own.

The medic next to him had removed his mask to better see and said something, frowned, and tried again right next to his ear. Still, he couldn't understand what was being said, it was just a jumbled mix of sounds around him, one not aided by the cacophony of Shinobi mobilizing around them nor the symphony of the storm.

Orders were barked out and he felt himself lifted up by two other Wolves- when had they gotten there?- who started towards the village without hesitation. Several other Wolves took up position around him, knowing he was the best bet of learning what had happened and unwilling to risk an attempt to silence him.

He didn't pay much attention to that though, focusing more on how fluidly everything moved together to do what needed to be done. Behind a shattered mask he smiled lightly, the Wolves really did come across as professionals, didn't they? They must be an impressive sight.

Some part of him realized he had never actually witnessed the Wolves at work because he was always a part of it while another wondered why he didn't quite feel like one at the moment.

A part of the pack, yes, but certainly not a Wolf.

Right now, he felt far more like an injured pup.

And with that in mind, he decided to take a nap, blissfully unaware of the panic he caused in the medic.

* * *

The temporary medical center was just about what one would expect other than the fact that it was proving to be less than temporary. For all intents and purposes, it had become Nami no Kuni's hospital but she still hesitated to call it such.

With cement floors and sheetmetal walls, it felt a bit too flimsy to her. It was quite solid, she knew, but it just didn't give of that firm sense of foundation the Konoha hospital did. Of course, that was to be expected, this building was one of the first done and the goal had been getting it done as soon as possible. It wasn't meant to be a proper hospital, just something to hold its place until a proper building could be procured.

And for such a basic structure it did its job well. The inside was sealed and insulated, kept painstakingly clean in a country where mud was as common as dirt and until recently the majority of the populace had lived on the street. Lighting had been strung from the roof, keeping everything bright for the Wolves with the most medical training and the few doctors they had managed to poach from nearby minor countries.

Supplies were plentiful thanks to Gato's stores and what they didn't have was easily acquired with his fortune. The equipment was dated but functional and would be kept until a proper hospital was built. After that she suspected Tsukiyomi would have the best available brought in.

Guards usually outnumbered the medical staff two to one- though specialized classes for Wolves with the aptitude were slowly changing that-but at the moment the number of guards had almost doubled. She understood why at first, he was one of two survivors and while not the one in charge- though he had been the other survivor, coincidentally- he was the only one available to give them a report at the moment.

Why the guards remained after that, however, she didn't know. The lookout- as many had actually started calling him for his fortune in being little more than an observer of the event- had been debriefed by commander Sai earlier that morning when he first awoke so even if someone were to come for him they wouldn't gain anything.

That's not to say she wanted something to happen to him, but the increased guard seemed unnecessary.

Nodding to two such sentinels at the front of the building she nearly gagged at the sanitized smell of the sterile building. It certainly had that part of a hospital down well enough. She and her kin had always hated hospitals in equal parts due to the fact that they were stuck there and because the awful smells were greatly increased by their own advanced senses.

The building was small and easy to navigate so it wasn't' hard to find the room she was looking for. With a nod to the guards posted right outside the room she stepped in uncontested.

Being the governor had some perks.

Having been appointed by Tsukiyomi himself had even more.

The patient rested on a small bed in the middle of the room, looking for all the world like someone had taken a random person off the street and placed them in the bed. At a glance there was no evidence of injury and according to Sai he only had some mild bruising. He had been disoriented by the blast but the medics could find no further evidence of damage to his head.

Despite this, he was being kept for observation just in case.

Something that pleased neither the patient nor the doctors who had to keep him from running out of the building.

Maybe that's why the guard hadn't been reduced.

"Good afternoon, are you feeling alright?" Her voice seemed to startle him and he quickly turned from the wall he was staring at. With medium length brown hair and brown eyes, he looked perfectly average for anyone living in the east of the elemental nations. Even his skin tone fell into an even balance between that most common in Kaze no Kuni, Hi no Kuni, and Tsuchi no Kuni. If she didn't know he was Konoha born and raised she could have been convinced he hailed from anywhere on this half of the continent.

"Ah, Governor, my apologies, I didn't hear you come in."

"That's fine, I just wanted to check up on you." He seemed a bit puzzled by that.

"Really? Why?" She frowned, but could see why he found it odd. After all, he was just one of the many Wolves and she was managing the civilian parts of Nami no Kuni.

"While I'm not Commander Sai, I'm still responsible for Nami no Kuni as a whole in Tsukiyomi-Sama's absence. The Wolves are just as much a part of Wave as anyone else."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does." She smiled. "So, how are you feeling? The medics said you didn't take much damage but they wouldn't keep you here if they didn't have a reason." She knew the reason, they both did, but it was Sai's job to deal with the information and management pertaining to the Wolves. It was for the human side of them that she was visiting now.

"Pretty good, considering." He admitted with a shrug. "Just a bit sore."

"I'm glad to hear it, you did good out there."

"I got lucky."

She shook her head.

"Even so, you paid attention to what your teammates were doing, if you hadn't we wouldn't know anything about the spies." It felt weird to be so detached from the situation when the spies had been from Konoha. The one they had captured was confirmed to be a Yamanaka before the explosion and while the other two were unconfirmed as being Mindwalkers they were almost certainly from Konoha too.

She loved Konoha, but she found herself growing more attached to Nami no Kuni with every passing day. She had to wonder if she really wanted to return to Konoha to take up leadership of the Inuzuka. Maybe she could split the clan, starting a branch here in Wave while her brother carried on the line back in Konohagakure.

"I guess you're right. Still, some lookout I was, didn't even have time to shout."

"Neither did theirs."

He gave a lopsided grin. "That's a good point, Governor, but we're supposed to be better than them."

"So long as you're equal to them rather than lesser, I think you're fine. And, please, call me Hana. Save the Governor stuff for when I'm doing my job."

"You're here doing your duty as the Governor now, aren't you? Checking up on those who live in your town and all that, no?"

"I suppose that's true, but still, I would prefer Hana. Sai's already taken care of the formal visit as the commander, I'm here for the visit as a concerned boss."

"Alright, Hana-San, I'm Yūto."

"See, that wasn't too hard."

"No," He laughed. "It wasn't. Just don't let the Commander know, he'll have my ass for being so informal with Tsukiyomi-Sama's chosen."

She frowned slightly at that, but it was more in thought than displeasure.

"You all really hold him in high regard, don't you?"

"Sai?" Yūto joked. "Not at all, he's still short and he's absolute ass at managing finances. Were it not for his sister we'd have gone bankrupt years ago."

It earned him a grin but she continued with her question.

"I meant Tsukiyomi-Sama, you all seem to look up to him. It's almost like he's your father figure."

"Father figure, Huh?" Yūto scratched his chin in thought. "I suppose you're right. He's quite literally the father of our organization, but he's also been looking out for us while we grow. I think most leaders have a goal they use their forces towards, but everything he does is usually related to providing for us."

"It's a rather admirable trait for a leader to have."

"That's Tsukiyomi-Sama, he's the best."

"That so?"

"Yeah, though I guess you're a close second after this."

She laughed again.

"So long as you don't start calling me mom, I think I'm fine with being second best in this case."

"Heh, I think there's a line looking to fill that role and I'm pretty sure Mai-Sama's at the front. You'd have to fight her for it."

"I think I'm good, I don't plan on being a mother in any sense for at least a decade more."

"No? I'm sure you could assume that role for some of the younger Wolves pretty well. Tsukiyomi-Sama does a great job but he's kind of distant because he's always busy looking out for us. Having someone else to look up to would do them good."

"In that case, they'll just have to look up to me as their older sister."

"Haha, you got it, Governor Hana Nee-chan."

"Sush, you." She swatted him gently on the arm. "And stop it with the Governor, we're all siblings under Tsukiyomi Tou-san."

"Tsukiyomi Tou-San? Heh, I like it. I'll have to spread that around."

"Fine, but if he doesn't like it you're taking the blame."

"And if he does?"

"I get the credit of course."

"Ha! You sound just like a Wolf, Tsukiyomi-Sama did well choosing you."

"I'm glad he did." Her mother had always said an Inuzuka had two families, BloodKin and Pack, and while you couldn't choose your BloodKin you could choose your pack. In this case, however, the pack had chosen her and she didn't regret being adopted into it in the slightest.

Now, if only she could find some way to combine the two.

* * *

 **I look forward to seeing you all for the next act.**


	38. Ignorance is Bliss

**A bit late, but at this point it's not really something of notice, is it?**

 **Almost positive I meant to say something in this AN but there isn't any note of it with my chapter outline. The outline didn't really come into play this chapter, as usual, but I think I usually have a note or two jotted down.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his work looking over the chapter and I'm glad to say he's back after a bit of trouble with hurricane Hermine.**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

Sweat dripped down his neck, hidden by a long blond ponytail, and down into his shirt. Too much more and people behind him were going to become suspicious of his damp shirt. It wasn't like him to lose his composure in the slightest, but they didn't know what he did and even were it not so it wouldn't affect them nearly as much as it did him.

They couldn't possibly understand the weight of the information he had received nor how it was acquired might affect his clan as a whole. The only thing that had gone remotely right was that he received the information, though he might have preferred to remain ignorant.

Had things gone any worse he'd be in this situation and not know it, but at least he wouldn't be stressing over it.

At lease no one had been captured in the end, it decreased the chances of things continuing to co horribly wrong exponentially. The fact that kills were unconfirmed was still worrying and the knowledge that they had started on their captive immediately had him on edge but if the bodies were destroyed there was a chance no one would make the connection between the spies and his clan.

Then again, that just seemed like wishful thinking.

Things were going to go wrong for him, it was a fact, simply because things were going to go right for the boy. Gods above knew their sister fortune favored the former Uzumaki prince.

His own actions, however, certainly didn't help in that sense. Sending spies had been, admittedly, a rather risky thing to do. His clan already had less than positive history with the Wolves and that wasn't aided by sending spies to their knew country.

On the other hand, knowing the Wolves as they did, he couldn't justify not sending them either. And while the cost of obtaining it had ended up exceeding its value the information brought back to him was nonetheless important.

Some of which would be put to use as soon as he could, in an effort to stave off any retribution that might come should the learn who it was that was, ultimately, responsible for the death or grievous injuries of several Wolves.

And even if the Yamanaka clan was not picked out as the perpetrator Konoha would likely be connected somehow and that was close enough for him to worry. He really should have obtained some foreign headbands, or at least had the spies scratch their own pair for the mission and gotten them replacements later. Two of them needed to be disposed of at this point, anyway, so there was no reason for anyone to doubt that they had run off as rouge Shinobi rather than died as spies on the orders of their clan head.

He didn't even want to think about what might happen should Kushina hear of this. That would be an absolute nightmare.

Tsume, though, she would need to hear about this. He was under no illusion that he could blackmail the woman, not when it was almost guaranteed to tip off the wolves of his clan's involvement, but he could certainly start improving the relationships between the two clans. As much as he could, anyway, he had very little in the way of control these days but at least Kushina was suffering for it.

She wanted the clan? The power and responsibility that came with it? Fine, but she got to deal with the more unpleasant aspects of leadership too. Were she to focus on only the Yamanaka clan she'd be fine, his daughter still managing the clan (albeit at a largely reduced level after Kushina's takeover) would have seen to that, but she was also trying to reestablish her own dying clan.

It carried a lot of weight, yes, but most of that weight had fallen into the grave already,. It was going to take a lot of work to pull it back out. If she wanted any chance of reviving her ancestral clan she'd have to let go of his own clan though they all knew that wasn't going to happen. It was more likely she'd try to use his clan to pull out her own only for both of them to fall completely into the grave.

Okay, that was a bit grim, but he really didn't like the idea of his clan being in the hands of someone else, it just didn't sit right with him.

Now, if she was the Kushina he remembered he could accept it, but the loss of her son had hit her bad. That she could hear of his actions and could see him from time to time from a distance didn't help any, it only made her more desperate to regain what had been lost. That desperation, much as it had led to the loss of said son, was also keeping him away from her.

And the farther away he was the more desperate she became. Most unfortunately, that mindset didn't make for the best leader of anything, let alone his precious clan.

Fat lot he could do about it at this point, though.

At least, a fat lot he could do by himself. And for that, if nothing else, the information brought back to him was invaluable.

Inuzuka in Wave? They were working with the Wolves and that meant he needed to work with them. It wasn't the best protection he could go for and it didn't mean much should word get out about his spies and the ire of the Wolves fall upon him but it did hold the greatest chance of success and, more importantly, paying off.

If he was really lucky, they just might be able to get his clan back for him, though that was unlikely.

But he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The Inuzuka were allied with the Wolves and he had already been looking for a way to tie his clan to the Wolves in a more peaceful manner than their past history.

It was a rather obvious course of action he needed to take, really.

The mess-up in Nami no Kuni still bothered him, but he couldn't let it hinder his attempts to do right by his clan. So much had changed, so much was lost, they needed stability so they could grow back to their former status and that was never going to happen without outside aid.

And with Kushina focusing on her son, there was only so much the Yamanaka benefited from their vassalage. The money was nice, don't get him wrong, it went a long way to start undoing damage caused by the wrathful Wolves, but there was only so much money could do to stabilize their clan when it was coming from outside and could cut off at any moment. They needed to be able to support themselves but that was a bit hard when Kushina and the Uzumaki had seen them laying there with legs broken from a poor decision to go against her son and decided to cut them off.

A pity, too, because Naruto was just about to help them up and provide the care they needed to return to their previous status. Now, unless they could find someone to help regrow their legs they were doomed to remain crippled for as long as the Uzumaki existed. And while that itself might not be for too long, there was also a rather large chance that the end of the Uzumaki would be there's too.

Of course, he had learned more than the ties between the Wolves and the Inuzuka. There was talk of another village- Sound, he had been told- active around the area. Chances were that an outpost was being built in an effort to increase Nami no Kuni's security but even if they were just there on a job it was possible there was a good relation between Wave and the minor Shinobi village.

So that was always an option if they needed to get out from Kushina's control. The clan would be pretty upset and it wasn't the best of ideas, but it's not like they really had anything to lose at this point. One might argue their status, but at this point it was a damn joke and everyone in the clan knew it. They weren't a major clan of Konoha, they were the vassals of a clan possessing only two members.

It was pathetic. He didn't care that said clan possessed more status than the others put together, the fact that they weren't even considered a full clan still hurt their pride. Yes, there it was- pride. It was just about the only thing they had left and even it was rather tarnished at this point.

He found it almost humorous that it should end this way considering it was pride that brought them to this point. His Daughter's pride in their family clashed with young Naruto's pride as a Shinobi and heir to start the problem that was only exacerbated by the Yamanaka clan's pride in their heiress. But Naruto did better than the pride of the clan, he brought with him the pride of a pack.

And now, after pride should have taught them all a lesson, it was all they had left to cling to.

How cruel the world was.

Then again, he had never been so foolish to believe otherwise. He was a Shinobi, a realist, and, pride or not, they had a very real problem. Now it was just a matter of finding the best way to fix it.

But even that needed to be put on hold for the moment, because at the very least Konoha needed to know. They wouldn't do anything, he knew that, but they needed to be aware of the threat that wasn't just close, but that had been within their very midst. That said, there were few who would accept what he said just because they wouldn't believe there was any way some secret group had managed to infiltrate and set up a base of operations- no matter how small- within the great walls of Konoha.

Just another example to show the failings of pride.

Still, it needed to be made known that the group that had brought his own clan to its knees under all their noses- something people still didn't believe him about- took over a nearby country. He'd leave out the part about the Inuzuka, of course, it wouldn't do him any good to reveal that. With the Nara and Akimichi distancing themselves ever since they became the vassal clan of the Uzumaki he needed allies now more than ever.

Thinking of them, he took a quick look at Chouza and Shikaku, both of whom looked hungry and bored- respectively- as they always had. It was if nothing ever changed for them, even though he knew Shikaku was constantly going over everything he heard in meetings like this. The man was a planner, always had been, and there was never too much thinking to be done if it cut down on the effort he had to expend in the end.

If anyone believed what he planned on saying it would be him, though he wouldn't show it or voice any support to indicate he did. Tsume, he supposed, would too, but she didn't exactly count considering she was part of the news he was about to impart upon the occupants of the room.

Actually, her reaction would be something to look for. Depending on how she responded both now and after he approaches her later to feel out some sort of arrangement between the clans would let him know if word had reached her of his blunder yet. His own spy had returned just yesterday which meant it was possible for her to know.

Of course, if she didn't yet know that was all the more reason for him to approach her now. The sooner this was done the better, though it could just as well backfire spectacularly if she believed he only allied with her because he had just pissed off the Wolves.

A lack of knowledge of the event on her part, though, would bode well for him. It meant she wasn't that high up, the Wolves didn't care to inform her about what their fellow clan did, or that the Wolves did not yet know who was behind the spies and, quite unfortunately, the death of their packmates.

That was something he certainly hadn't intended in the slightest.

It was also very likely to be the main reason this plan might fail. The Wolves didn't like spies, it was understandable, but if Naruto didn't mind too much- and he was sure that, if nothing else, the young man would understand his actions- the Yamanaka could make it out alright.

Then again, the Yamanaka didn't have anything to do with it- he did. Naruto was just as likely to single him out- even if he didn't know it was all him- and leave the clan be as he was to just go against the clan as a whole.

Hell, from what he knew of the boy, he half expected him to start selling flowers. That might sound odd, but ever since people became less trusting of the Yamanaka the missions they'd been able to secure were vastly reduced from what they used to be. Because of that most of their income now came from various flower shops and gardening services.

Were Naruto feeling especially cross, there was no doubt he'd take a loss to start shipping in flowers and selling them at a price so low it would destroy what little business the Yamanaka managed to scrape in.

Then they'd be relying on Kushina for all their financial need.

Perhaps that might lead her to leave them, though. Her coffers were vast, but also finite. It wasn't as if she were doing anything to add to them, either, as nearly all her assets were liquid. It might actually work, he realized, but it was also rather risky. After all, after she stopped supporting them, how were they to support themselves?

There was also the fact that Kushina wasn't really thinking things through these days. It wouldn't surprise him too terribly if she was more than willing to drain the Uzumaki coffers in her attempts to get her son back.

This really was just a mess, no matter how he tried to look at it, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to fix it. Naruto didn't seem to have anything against Ino, though, maybe she would be able to do what he couldn't and restore the clan. She had demonstrated surprising competence when he had pushed her into such a position before. He had expected her to succeed, of course, and he was always on hand to make sure everything went well, but his little princess had adapted to the role quickly- much quicker than he had.

And he had been trained before taking the position.

Not trained as in given the lessons he had imparted upon her by that point, but actual training at the side of his father as they worked through clan business together.

It was quite remarkable and her drive to undo what she had cause was admirable. He had to wonder if his greatest action as clan head wasn't raising her so she could take the position from him to fix his mistakes. It was a sad thought, but the idea that his clan would be safe in her hands brought him comfort.

Now it was just a matter of removing them from under Kushina's thumb.

Maybe he should be trying to repair the relations between the two? On Kushina's side it would benefit them, and with Ino in a favorable position with Naruto he may be willing to help her get her clan back- especially when it was practically his before Kushina stole it.

It would seem he needed to have a chat with his daughter again, one that was more than likely to include her Uzumaki friend too. He wasn't' sure where they stood in this mess, but their determination to learn everything about the situation they were in was beyond what he would expect of any fresh Genin.

Naturally, he knew, because they were well aware of the fact that they were part of this mess and it wouldn't just affect them now but far into the future. Ino was maturing rapidly from the fangirl she had become in the academy and even the naïve Naruko was wizening up some and looking at the consequences of her actions.

It was earlier than he imagined, but maybe it was time for the next generation. He and the rest of the older crowd had gone through a lot and held steadfast to their ways but change was coming, led by a pack of Wolves. His generation just wasn't prepared for that, they weren't adaptable enough to stop the spreading wildfire unleashed by a young man with the mentality of a Shinobi many times his senior.

Yes, as soon as he had secured the clan it would be going to Ino and he'd step back to act as an advisor. They needed a young mind to look at the world anew and spot all that would soon wither and die in this new era of Shinobi.

But as he said earlier, he first needed to warn the current generation of the upcoming transition. He couldn't come out and say it, but he could direct their gaze to the center of the storm so they had a chance to recognize it for what it was. Shikaku would understand, Tsume knew, but would the rest be able to grasp what was happening? Chouza wasn't the kind to look into things like this, Shibi was always prepared to adapt to ensure the survival of the hive and would act when he spotted the best opportunity, and Hiashi- and the entirety of the Hyuuga clan at that- would believe the coming storm to be no match for his clan.

They would try to weather the storm.

They would fail.

He didn't know how the Sarutobi would take it- Hiruzen may have figured it out already and informed them- and there was no telling Kushina's response.

It was lucky that there was just enough noise in the room to keep others from hearing the nervous tapping of his foot. It was not good to let others know you were uneasy about something and the entire room would have known had it been too much more quiet. As it was just a slight decrease in noise would have likely tipped off Tsume about his nervousness.

Not the best impression to make before he attempted to ally himself with her to be sure.

He only half listened to whatever it was that was being discussed in the room, none of it caught his attention and it was Kushina who needed to know in the end. He was little more than a figurehead at this point.

When Hiruzen asked if there was anything else to be brought up before the council, however, he quickly clamped down on his nerves and stood.

"Yes, Councilman Yamanaka?" Asked the aged Hokage. There was talk of him training his son for the position but nothing verified yet. It would be good for the elderly Shinobi to finally be free of the burdens associated with the mantle of Hokage. Gods above knew he deserved a very long vacation.

"Some news has come to my attention, Hokage-Sama, and I thought it best to bring it to the attention of this honorable council so we might all stay informed."

"Very well, proceed."

"Of course. Many might recognize this as a matter very close to me and my clan. It's because of this we've been doing our best to keep track of any and all information regarding it-"

"Get to the point!" Inuzuka Tsume had always been impatient and her interruption showed it to remain true. She had also never been one for flowery words, something rather odd considering her spot on the council. If nothing else, it could serve to be a refreshing change when she let her own opinion be heard.

Never the less, he sent her a half glare- both because of her interruption and because this news had something to do with her clan. It was for that reason he continued to look her in the eye as he continued.

"The Wolves have moved again." He stated plainly. "Nami no Kuni is under their dominion."

If the slight widening of her eyes was indication she understood the meaning behind his pointed look. The fact that she had not previously believed in the Wolves only supported this fact.

Kushina, on the other hand, scoffed.

"You always talk about these mystery Wolves but I still have yet to see any. We're in Konoha, how long could they keep themselves a secret?" She failed to notice the way Shikaku, Hiruzen, and two of the elders turned to look at the third. Danzou, most amusingly, did his best to look innocent.

"You can believe what you want, but they are out there and they did indeed just take over a country." Said Inoichi. "I just wanted everyone aware, if you choose not to act on it that's your business."

Before an argument could start Hiruzen spoke up.

"I suppose that would explain the letter I received not long before the meeting. I was originally intending to bring it up later, after I had made sure I had all relevant information but I suppose now is as good a time as ever."

All attention went to the Hokage. What letter? What did it have to do with the Wolves Inoichi was claiming to have taken over Nami no Kuni?

"The Wolves, as Inoichi has said," continued the Hokage. "Are quite real. More than that, as of recently they have found favor with the Daimyo for he has declared them a noble house of the Imperial Fire Court."

And that caught even Inoichi off guard. A noble house? That was completely unexpected.

Those who had not believed Inoichi previously seemed both shocked and ashamed. Even Kushina seemed slightly humbled, but she still didn't believe they were operating in Konoha until Danzou spoke.

"They already have a base set up within the village. Seeing as paperwork for the change of ownership went through just this morning and yet they're already present we can confirm that they've been in the village unofficially for some time now. Those who frequent the area have mentioned that the group has been present for well over a year."

"That long?" Questioned Shikaku.

"Longer." Corrected Danzou. "The Wolves were formed here in Konoha two-almost two and a half- years ago by someone who has recently come out as a man going by the name Tsukiyomi." Only a few of them noticed the way Tsume tensed at the news.

"And how long have you known?" Questioned Hiashi. He disliked that his all-seeing clan had somehow missed this group in Konoha over the years.

"About two years now, they started as…private security, I suppose you could say." It took some effort not to smile at his words. After all, private security is what he commonly called his Root forces. By Hiruzen's vastly less than amused expression it was obvious the Hokage understood the reference.

Good, it wouldn't do for him to be the only one to appreciate the wordplay. Though 'enjoy' really wasn't applicable in this case, he was sure Hiruzen was rather annoyed. Still, at least he had understood. That counted for something, no?

"Who's private security?" Asked Shibi. Evidently even he was intrigued by this.

"Tsukiyomi's, I would guess." It wasn't hard to see the amusement in the old warhawk's eyes, though the rest of his face remained as expressionless as stone. Just the fact that he was amused- not even taking into consideration how he was letting it show in even the slightest amount- was a bit disturbing, honestly, and it put all those who noticed on edge.

"I…See." Shibi was less than pleased by the answer but content to leave it at that, likely believing it would be futile to ask for more clarification.

Much to Inoichi's surprise, though, Tsume was the one who sought more information. Either she was trying to create cover or she was generally curious. He was actually betting on the second- she wasn't known for being devious or crafty- and he could understand if she didn't have all that much information on the shadowy figure she had allied her clan with.

"And do we have any idea who this Tsukiyomi is?" She asked. "Do we know anything about him at all?"

"Why, of course we do, Tsume." Danzou answered with a patronizing smile that unsettled everyone there. The old Shinobi wasn't supposed to act like this, what in the world had him lightening up? "He's the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni."

' _What?!'_ It was a rather general thought, one that couldn't be tired to a single person within the group. The only two exceptions were Hiruzen and of course Danzou himself.

"He's the Daimyo?" Questioned Shikaku, more to himself than anyone else. His next question, on the other hand, was directed to the room at large. "Was he the Daimyo when he formed the Wolves as his 'private security force'?"

"Not as far as we can tell." Answered Hiruzen, shooting a glare at his old teammate. "As I was getting to, our Daimyo supported this Tsukiyomi in his position as Nami no Kuni's next Daimyo. Forming an alliance- immediately, from what we can tell- he offered a position within the court to the new Daimyo. We can assume the Wolves were used to secure his position as Daimyo in the first place and with the House of Wolves being part of the Imperial Fire Court they're as good as sanctioned by the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni."

"So Inoichi's boogeymen were real? And now they have the support of the Daimyo?" It was the first Chouza had spoken the entire meeting.

"That is correct."

"Alright." Shrugged the jovial Akimichi. "With any luck my clan's restaurants will have some more customers. Any idea how many will be in Konoha?"

No one was really surprised. When off the battlefield Chouza was rather laid back and as an Akimichi he was naturally more interested in his restaurants than the fact that they had been infiltrated. Konoha was still standing, wasn't it? That was good enough for him- there was no use worrying over something that had already happened, after all.

"We don't know how many will be here, but I wouldn't be surprised in the number fluctuates regularly. They're operating more openly lately, they should become a common sight."

"And how will we know who's a Wolf and who's just using a disguise to get in? On that note, how will we know they aren't smuggling in foreign Shinobi?"

"They will have specialized identification as a part of Hi no Kuni but beyond that there isn't much we can do. There's never been a situation like this before and trying to stop them or impose new security measures upon them is likely to gain the ire of the Daimyo."

"That's rather troublesome." Commented Shikaku. "We're supposed to just let them waltz in?"

"They are to be treated as visiting Hi no Kuni Samurai or diplomatic envoys. The same rules will apply to them as citizens of Hi no Kuni. The only major problem is the identification. I don't doubt they wear the masks for more than just their aesthetic effect and anything else we could try that wouldn't involve them revealing themselves is too easily copied to be of any use."

The Nara gave a deep sigh.

"I'll try to come up with some kind of system, but we'll have to get into contact with them at some point and I doubt they'd appreciate ANBU just showing up on their door. Do we have any way to do this?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, not at this moment." It wasn't a lie on Hiruzen's part, Naruto was still out of Konoha at the moment- likely with the wolves- and so they'd have to wait until his return. It also kept people from knowing that he was aware of the Wolves and Naruto's involvement with them for this long.

Inoichi, however, didn't share the same thoughts.

"We can always contact them through Genin Naruto, I'm aware he has ties to them." He admirably ignored the glares sent at him by Hiruzen and Kushina. "And even if he can't do it himself he's bound to be able to direct us to someone who can."

"You're sure he's involved with them?" Hiashi wondered how this would affect the dinner he was planning on inviting the Genin to. In one way, having ties to a new noble house wasn't' a bad thing, on the other the Wolves were less than popular in Konoha at the moment, and they had only recently become officially present.

"I don't know to what degree, but I know he has ties to them. The first attack on my clan was a warning, an official declaration and he was present flanked by two Wolves. Part of them or not, he knows them."

"I see." If nothing else, the dinner would let him feel out the young man's relation to the Wolves. Just that was enough reason for him to go through with it. Besides, preparations had already begun and he did need to thank him on behalf of the clan. It was already shameful that he hadn't done so before.

"Well, I think that's enough on the subject for now. Thank you for bringing it up, Inoichi. With all that said, however, I do believe I'll call this meeting to a close." No one was about to argue with the Hokage as they all rose and made to leave.

Unfortunately, Inoichi's work wasn't done yet.

"Clanhead Tsume, might I have a moment of your time?"

He just knew this was going to be a long day.

* * *

 **As you can probably guess by now, this was supposed to be a scene, not a chapter. On the upside, I still have the rest of the scenes planned for this chapter to use in the next. Lucky me.**

 **See you all next week.**


	39. Welcome Home

**Alright, this chapter is a bit later than usual but the good news is that I have 7k words written for the next one.**

 **Thanks, of course, goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's begin, shall we?**

* * *

"Clanhead Tsume, might I have a moment of your time?" She could have pretended to not have heard him had she not been an Inuzuka but even knowing that there was no way anyone would believe her if she claimed so she briefly considered trying anyway as her heart sped up slightly.

The look he had given her earlier- when speaking of the Wolves- had been easy enough to understand. She didn't know how he found out, what he was going to do with that information, or why he wanted to talk to her but she didn't like it. No one was supposed to know- no one! And yet he did.

If word got out about her relationship to the Wolves sin a month it would be nothing to worry about, an alliance with an up and coming group- despite it being rather out of character for the impolitically inclined Inuzuka Tsume- was something easy enough to accept. The same was true of it being revealed in two weeks. Hell, she could probably get away with it without arousing too much suspicion in as early as a week so long as people bought her explanation for the acceptance and familiarity of her pack as natural synergy.

It was a stretch, but it could be pulled off.

Less than that, however, would be impossible to explain. Well, not explain, the explanation was plain enough. No, it would be difficult to lie about, because that was what she was really doing in the end, wasn't it? Keeping her relationship with the Wolves cloaked in secrecy because it had been going on for over a month and her daughter was currently working in a rather high position as the Governor of Nami no Kuni.

Nami no Kuni- Wave- how had he learned about the takeover? Was that how he discovered her own clan's involvement? Did he see Hana or perhaps just some of her daughter's entourage? What, exactly, did he know?

She wouldn't be able to know, not for certain, the true extent of his knowledge and even a basic understanding would be limited almost exclusively to what he told her. She could usually detect lies and she could sometimes understand what emotion the clan head was feeling but dealing with a Yamanaka was never easy and you couldn't be sure what they were really thinking.

Much unlike herself, who was probably filled with minute tells for the Mindwalker to take advantage of.

Perhaps that's why he was interested in speaking to her now.

Turning away from the doorway- sweet freedom, escape just beyond her reach!- she met his eyes, knowing immediately that he had probably picked up on the nervousness in her own.

Sure, what she did wasn't technically illegal, but that didn't mean having her actions known wouldn't cause her trouble amongst the other clans and even Konohagakure no Sato itself. The fact that the Wolves were now a noble house- when was shew going to be informed?- wouldn't help much. Then again, every bit would help if it was known she had been consorting with a potential enemy all this time. The potential would keep her and her clan out of the fire, but they would still be in hot water.

Fortunately, she mused, if everything went to hell her clans would have the support it needed. They could flee to the capital as friends of the House of Wolves or seek asylum in Hi no Kuni's ally Nami no Kuni as partners of their Daimyo. Actually, neither of those sounded too bad, they would actually have more status and influence with those options than they did now as one of Konoha's greater clans.

It was kind of sad, now that she thought about it.

"I suppose I could spare a moment or two." She answered back as calmly as she could. Regrettably she had just spoken in a very Un-Tsume like manner and she recognized it just as quickly as Inoichi did. Those still around them had no doubt taken note of such as well.

It would seem some of her other relations were going to cause trouble too- she had been spending too much time with Mai as of late.

Sweat starting at the back of her neck, she tried to ignore her rising unease as Inoichi rose a single brow in question. She didn't dare look away to see what looks others were shooting her, doing so would have made her look as nervous as she was feeling.

"You have my gratitude in advance, I know you must be busy." Tsume flinched ever so slightly at what they both new was a blatant untruth. She didn't have a damn thing she needed to do and they both knew it. Hopefully only she knew it was because her daughter was currently working for the betterment of the clan leaving only the daily Konoha paperwork for her to take care of each morning.

"Have to see to the territory, you know. Can't be having newcomers thinking they can steal from my pack." Making up something and passing it off as a unique clan matter was the best she could come up with on such short notice, but it was also arguably the best considering her clan and her usual actions.

He seemed surprised at first, taking the bait, but then he seemed to realize something about her words and narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, yes, your pack. There must have been quite a few more births than normal these recent years," He commented almost offhandedly. "It seems to have increased rather drastically."

Damn him and his insight.

Still, she had to give him props for that- it was a good catch of words she hadn't realized slipped. And for him to think of her words from the perspective of the Inuzuka to come to a true conclusion with barely a moment's pause? There was a damn good reason the Yamanaka had always dominated the T&I department.

The only other person who should have made that connection would have been Nara Shikaku, simply because he would analyze everything he heard a hundred different ways and have a full conversation with you before he even replied. Thank the gods the Nara clan had never really had a political drive or any discussion with them would have been a nightmare of a political minefield.

It was a daunting enough thought that she was sure the Inuzuka wouldn't be the only clan deeming the political game too troublesome for them to even dare attempt.

"I suppose it has." She replied. "I hardly keep track of numbers, it's simply family." Not really, the Wolves weren't that close but they were all working together and that was enough to consider both the Wolves and the Inuzuka as one pack. Not a tightknit pack, but a pack nonetheless. Calling them was family was weird, but it was likely to happen in time. The chances of mating between the two was just far too high for her to think otherwise.

Maybe this was what getting to know your future in-laws was like. You didn't know them and weren't close but you knew that was soon to change, if only for the sake of your family.

Fortunately, she was rather fond of the Wolves and didn't mind the thought too much. She should probably consider herself lucky, gods knew whatever woman Kiba married would have the absolute weirdest family.

They'd have to if they were getting with her son, after all.

"Of course, of course." He nodded. "Your home is in the forests, but I have to ask- Have you ever considered the _mountain range_?"

The reference to his own clan was not lost on her, nor was what he was implying. He wanted to know of her thoughts of the Yamanaka and, more than that, how the entire pack- Wolves included- felt about them. There was only one reason for him to inquire of such, something supported by his clans misfortune when they had been against Naruto and by extension the Wolves she was now allied with.

He wanted to join them.

The nervousness almost completely left her but she was still cautious.

"I hadn't, but it certainly sounds like an excellent idea for a hunting trip. We'll have to try it out sometime. Would you care to continue this conversation elsewhere?" She was still well aware that they were standing within the council chambers, not the best place for a conversation of this nature.

"That sounds perfectly agreeable." He answered with a nod, moving to lead her out of the room.

As the two left to speak of Konoha's newest official occupants neither noticed the black pineapple sitting innocently on one of the tables- a pineapple that rose to show the face of one Nara Shikaku.

* * *

Her shoes practically flew off her feet before impacting the entryway wall with a solid thud but she hardly paid any notice to that.

She had known about them, Naruko and the Yamanaka had seen to hat, but still she ha held tightly to the hope that they were nothing but an urban legend, that they would be, at most, no more than a loose collection of souls that had fallen on hard times and unfortunately turned to petty crimes to support themselves.

That would have been okay, she could have accepted that her son was part of a close-knit group of survivors who looked out for each other and came to see themselves as a family.

But this? Not just an organization but an actual noble house?

If nothing else, the claims of family were certainly absolute, one could not deny a family that had managed to gain the favor of a greater Daimyo.

Even then, this was not a small group that had become a noble house of the Imperial Fire Court, this was an organization that had started small and grown in ways few would have imagined.

And her son, her baby boy, was part of it.

But in what capacity?

Was he a Wolf? An ally? Did he provide some sort of service providing information or infiltrating groups that would never trust them? Was he simply friends with some of them, their leader perhaps, or was he more deeply involved with this group?

Could he possibly be their leader, this Tsukiyomi, the one who had built them up from nothing?

She desperately wanted that to not be the case but were it to be true she would still be unable to keep herself from being proud of him and his accomplishments. It would explain a lot about his relationship with the Yamanaka too.

Leader or not, however, there was something far more important on her mind at the moment. The Wolves couldn't be that bad if the Daimyo was showing them so much favor as to instantly grant them a house on his court, and that same status as a noble house would ensure her son, regardless of the exact manner in which he was involved, would be well taken care of.

No, what she had to focus on was the trouble here in Konoha. He was gone now, off having himself a little vacation that reminded her painfully of how she and Naruko had left Konoha to return four years later. He was only going to be gone for a little over a month but even with him not being close to her anymore his absence still fell heavy on her heart and made her wonder how he could have possibly gone through four years of feeling anything close to what she felt right now.

He was going to come back, she knew he was, but the thought that he might decide not to, the small chance that he never would, filled her with dread. Had he shared her fears when she left or had he, never receiving her note or being taken in by Tsunade when she learned he had been locked out of the compound, immediately assume she would never be back?

She shook the thought from her head. Now was not the time to contemplate that. She was back, she had returned to him. _For Him._

She wouldn't have left in the first place if she didn't need to separate herself from him for his well-being but even if the three of them had left together she had to wonder igf they would have bothered returning.

There really wasn't anything but her children that kept her in Konoha and both of them would have been more than willing to leave with her back then. Considering how wrong they had been about how the Kyuubi's chakra was affecting Naruto, it would have been better to simply take him with her then and avoid all of the problems they were having in Konoha.

Problems, admittedly, that wouldn't have existed if she stayed, either.

But as she said, it wasn't time for those particular thoughts to haunt her, Naruto was out of the village and that meant, hopefully, that he'd return with a fresh perspective and be more open to her efforts to restore the family to what it was before she destroyed it in her haste to protect him.

And when he did return the last thing she needed was for his attention to be caught by other things spinning out of her control.

Things like the Yamanaka clan.

" _Inoichi_." She practically growled the name as she thought of the head of the Yamanaka clan. He was up to something, she knew it, but she just couldn't figure out what.

He was approaching Tsume, for fucks sake, unless he was trying to court her- tying the clans together and perhaps using the increased weight to wrest the Yamanaka from her grasp? Maybe, and that could be done with their heirs, too.- she couldn't imagine why he had wanted to speak with her after the meeting- a meeting about the Wolves and their recent movements.

Something was up there, she just didn't know what. It wasn't a surprise that he knew about the Wolves being in Wave, her daughter's friendship with Ino was likely to thank for that, but his confirmation that they had completely taken over. One could have gathered such from simply knowing the Wolves as he seemed to and making the logical conclusion, but that didn't feel quite right.

She knew she was missing something, maybe even a lot, she just didn't know what it applied to. Was she missing something with the way Inoichi had known about the Wolves? He had seemed just as surprised as the rest by the fact that they had become a noble house, that couldn't have been it, not fully.

Was it his actions with Tsume? What could he actually do that might affect her or, rather, what might he be trying to hide from her? A frown crossed her lips.

He was definitely trying to hide _something_ , but what was it?

And, more importantly, how would it affect her son?

* * *

Slowly the carriage rolled to a halt just off the main roadway. It was always odd how little use it seemed to receive considering it connected Konohagakure no Sato with the capital of Hi no Kuni. Then again, not many traveled between the two regularly and those that did were usually messengers that moved by foot. Carriages and horses simply weren't readily available for the average traveler.

It also helped that the trade routes, for some strange reason, were not the same as the main roads. Why they didn't just make one larger road he'd never understand.

A warm body pressed itself deeper into his side as the Wolves began setting up a perimeter around what was to be their temporary camp but other than that made no signs of waking.

That, however, could be attributed to the fact that the person curled into his side wasn't asleep and hadn't been for several hours. With his journey nearing its end and their inevitable separation approaching it had been harder and harder for her to drift off to sleep.

Of course, while sleep was nice when you had almost nothing else to do, he doubted she wanted to spend her limited time with him sleeping. She much preferred, he had found, spending her time cuddling with her last precious person.

And there was simply no way he could not indulge her.

She mumbled something into his side but whatever words left her lips were drowned in his shirt.

"What was that, Mikoto Kaa-chan?" He could feel her smile even before she turned to show it to him, her black eyes almost shining with happiness. Well, they were shining with unspent tears, but tears of happiness, so he supposed that was close enough.

"I love it when you call me that, Naruto-Kun." Giving a chuckle he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I know, Kaa-chan, I know. What was it you were trying to say?" Her smile turned into a frown though even then it was more of a pout in his eyes.

"I don't want to go." Almost as if she believed they were to be separated at that very moment her arms wrapped around his torso and pulled her body closer to his. If he minded at all, he didn't show it.

"You know that's not a choice, you're not a wanted criminal-" She was considered dead, after all. "But they'll do whatever they can to eliminate you."

Her pout deepened.

"Are you sure? I could be used to restart the clan, they wouldn't want to pass up on that." At her words a growl left the back of his throat. He would be the first to admit he was rather possessive of what he had and right now she was his.

Of course, that caused some problems. It was hard for her to stay away from him and when they were together- like now- it was hard for her to leave. As her last precious person she had a tendency to be nearly as possessive of him as he was her and her desire to protect him often lead to her trying to convince him to leave the Wolves and stop being a Shinobi for Konoha.

It felt nice, he supposed, but it could become a bit irritating. He wasn't about to let all his work go to waste and while she knew this it didn't stop her from trying.

Her having someone else in her life would have her toning it all down but he couldn't accept the idea of someone else having her.

"No." His hand left her hair as his arm wrapped tightly around her. "You're mine."

Art this she giggled softly. "Don't worry, Kaa-chan's not going to leave you."

Her head turned away from him to rest back on his torso. "Still," her voice had lowered until it was just a breath above a soft whisper. "I could be in Konoha, I could take care of you. Wouldn't you want that?"

"You escaped them, the High Council's going to want control of you. It wouldn't surprise me if they turned your escape into you going rouge. Even if they let you live, they would take you from me."

She gave a disappointed sigh but didn't argue his point. She knew of the massacre, after all, even if they were to restore her clan she'd be kept under constant guard and it was likely after the first few kids she would be eliminated so they could control the birth of the new clan.

"But if I could return, you'd want that, right?"

Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head. "Of course, Kaa-chan. I'll see about getting you a Wolf mask so we can smuggle you in every so often."

That caught her attention and her eyes turned back up to meet his.

"Really?" The sheer innocent hope made her seem almost child-like.

"Really." At his confirmation she tightened her already iron grip on his body, nearly to the point he couldn't breathe.

A few moments later her voice was almost timid but none of the hoe had left it.

"C-can you get me in today?" It was obvious she didn't want to leave him and if he were honest he really didn't want her to either. Frowning, he mulled it over, aware that her eyes were still glued to his face as she eagerly hoped he would let her.

While it was because he held the key to getting her in, the thought that she was deferring to him for permission reminded him of his pet lamb and only further endeared her to him.

It also made this harder, because he really didn't want to see the disappointment on her face were he to deny her.

That alone wasn't easy, how could anyone deny her anything?

But he couldn't ignore facts just to make her happy, as much as he'd like to. The House of Wolves had just came into being and they were about to become an official part of Konoha. Actually, if the runner he had sent to Konoha managed to arrive- which he was certain of- they were already an official part of Konoha. Now, however, they were going to be seen regularly.

At the moment, there was only a small force in Konoha, mostly left to protect Mai and Hinata, but with Naruto's return there was bound to be an increase even if he didn't order it.

Sai, the bastard, would no doubt send a full guard behind his back, and that was if he was lucky.

Naruto was half expecting two full guards and supplementary forces to the base in Konoha.

Considering a full guard ranged between ten or twelve – even thirteen occasionally, often jokingly called the baker's guard – there was going to be a dramatic increase in the presence of the Wolves.

And while it might slightly alleviate suspicion- Having a group no one saw was guaranteed to put the Shinobi village on edge- it would also focus their attention.

As much as he'd like to take her into Konoha, now just wasn't the time.

"I'm sorry, Kaa-chan, we're going to be watched too carefully."

"Oh, okay." The crestfallen look her face adopted had him nearly smuggling her in anyway and damning the consequences but he had to think about more than himself in this situation. Despite wanting her with him and not wanting her to be disappointed, bringing her right now would be bad for both her and the Wolves and he couldn't do that to either.

No, it was better this way.

She had looked away from him, trying to hide her disappointment at being denied both the chance to spend more time with him and see her home again for the first time in years, and he corrected that using his free right hand.

"I'll bring you to Konoha with me when everything calms down, Kaa-chan." He assured her. "I promise."

She didn't bother asking if he really meant it, that would be pointless. Naruto never- _**NEVER**_ \- promised _anything_. He was a man of his word and because of it he never gave it. For him to promise meant he'd do everything he could to make it happen and that was enough for her.

"Alright." There was silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the company but knowing it was soon coming to an end. Eventually Mikoto's voice rose again, tinged with resignation.

"I guess I should probably get going, we're pretty close to Konoha already." Both knew it had been a risk coming his far but it had been worth it in the end.

"We are." He acknowledged. "It was good to see you again, Kaa-chan."

She gave him another smile, slightly subdued by their coming parting. Grabbing her cloak from the other side of the stopped carriage she easily shrugged it on. The mask, on the other hand, she frowned down at irritably. She hated the damn thing and she hated more the thought of hiding her face from Naruto. It made her feel untrustworthy- funny, considering she was his spy- like she was hiding something from him.

She wasn't of course, but that couldn't rid her of the feeling.

"You'll keep sending me letters, won't you?" She asked, turning away from the hated mask to meet his gaze. Spending time with him had comforted her, but it was still one of her fears that she'd be left with nothing once again. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him after everything else that had been taken from her by her traitorous s- Itachi, taken from her by Itachi.

He was no son of hers.

No, her only son was before her, grinning gently in a way that warmed her heart and convinced her everything was going to be okay.

"Of course, and if a raven is unavailable I'll beg a favor from one of Aū's children." She shot him a puzzled look, having no idea what he was talking about, and he made no effort to explain. He'd leave that as a little surprise then.

"Speaking of children," he continued, catching her completely off-guard. "I'd like to ask you to deliver this to the Wolves for me, if it isn't too much trouble."

He pulled a letter from beside him and made to hand it to her as she stared at him blankly, desperately trying to figure out how the Wolves were related to any children the twelve year old Daimyo might have. He didn't really have any pups running around, did he?

And pups? She sounded like Tsume!

His voice pulled her from her musings. "I figured you might like to meet the rest of the family."

Rest of the family? Did she have a daughter in law, then? Grandchildren? The thought wasn't unpleasant by itself, but the related idea that Naruto might be married with kids certainly was.

"Er, family?"

He gave her a strange look.

"Of course." He said, slightly confused. "What else would my pack be?"

She could not begin to describe how relieved that made her. Of course he would consider the Wolves his family, but how did that relate to children?

"You mentioned something about children?"

"The Wolves, naturally." He explained, wondering why she had difficulty understanding this. "I'm the father of the Wolves and that makes them my children."

"Ah, yes." Now she felt kind of stupid, she should have been more than capable of making that connection on her own. And then he remembered he had asked her to do something for him. "Oh, of course, I'd love to meet your family. I guess that kind of makes them like my grandkids, right?"

He raised a brow. "I suppose it does."

Well, it did if she were his mother, but despite his words he really didn't see her as such. An aunt, maybe, a very close aunt at that, or perhaps even a sister. Hell, there were some times she felt more like a daughter, but she was looking to fill the void of her missing family and that left only two positions for him to fill in her mind.

He could be her husband or he could be her son.

Considering he was twelve, she made the only logical choice.

Still, it made her happy and took no real effort on his part so he indulged her. He did have to wonder, however, how long it would be until she no longer needed someone in that role. Would his filling of it even allow her to reach such a state or would she simply choose the other path and start looking to him in a romantic light?

Already her actions were far from what a mother's should be, so it wasn't too hard to imagine that she was just trying to be close to someone and with what had happened to her family that was the first relationship that came to mind. In that case, it was by name only that their relationship was that between a mother and son.

Eventually, he knew, she would have to realize that for herself but when? And more importantly, what would she do? Would she try to keep things the way they were? Would she act differently? Maybe she would just give their relationship a new name and leave it at that.

But true nature or not, she currently did her best to fill the role of mother in her life and looked to him as her son. Indulging her as he did, much like a father wrapped around his daughter's finger, he would play along until she grew tired of it.

"Though I don't think any of them would be able to see you as such."

"Why not?" She seemed slightly distressed, at not being able to take on the role of grandmother or the idea that his family wouldn't accept her he didn't know.

"You're too young," It was simple enough, but she was rather partial to his complements he had noticed during their journey. Knowing that he continued. "And far too beautiful for them to think of you as a grandmother."

A faint dusting of red painted her cheeks, as he had expected.

"Really?" She tried to act shy but it was obvious she was just after more compliments. Despite knowing this Naruto gave a grin and like with most things indulged her.

"Like a goddess." He thought that was pretty funny, personally, considering that Hinata had been named a goddess by her cult, he had been named after a god because of his status over her, and the woman he was complimenting had claimed the position of his mother. After all, what could the mother of a god be but a goddess?

A soft giggle left her lips before she leaned in for a quick hug, planting a small kiss on his cheek.

"You're so sweet, Naruto-Kun. Write me soon, okay?" He gave her a single nod and with a smile she left his carriage. He had no doubt that by the time he were to leave himself she'd be out of view.

Shaking his head, he made to leave anyway. After all, this was their first break in hours and the last one before they reached Konoha. He might as well make the most of it.

* * *

They had snuck him into Konoha easily enough, not wanting to give people any further reason to believe him to be Tsukiyomi. As it was, the less people that new the better.

His home, which he hadn't seen in over a month now, was welcoming. No doubt some of the Wolves he left for Mai had taken it upon themselves to take care of the apartment while he was away. Their effort was appreciated.

A quick shower- the luxury of bathing having been unavailable since his stay at the Daimyo's palace- left him more relaxed than he had been in weeks. The combination of being clean, warm, and in a place he was so familiar with led to him laying comfortably on his couch.

It came as no surprise that he soon fell asleep.

Later- perhaps minutes, maybe even hours- he felt hands gently cup his head and lift it into the air. He didn't bother so much as opening his eyes at the feeling. Not only would the Wolves have stopped anyone who could have meant him harm but the actions were far too familiar for him not to know exactly who was in his home with him.

True to his expectations a weight settled on the couch where his head had been and he was gently lowered to rest on the person's lap. Cracking a single eye open confirmed it as Mai who smiled softly down at her lord. Leaning down to kiss his forehead in a surprising display of affection her smile grew ever so slightly.

"Welcome home, Naruto-Sama."

Tired as he was, it didn't stop the smile that spread over his own lips.

It felt good to be back.

When nimble fingers began running through his crimson hair and a soft hum filled the air he relaxed even further, sinking again into sleep's comforting embrace.

Mai seemed pleased by this, her smile becoming serene as everything returned to how it should be. She was here for him again, by his side as she was always meant to be. With tender fondness she continued to gaze down at her lord.

If she had any say about it, this is where she'd always be.

But even if she wasn't, she'd always be waiting for his return.

"Welcome home, Master."

Because even if she wasn't always with him, she'd always be there for him.

* * *

 **And that should just about do it, I look forward to seeing you all again for the first showing of our XL chapter.**


	40. The Ungodly Hour of Eleven

**It looks like this chapter's first showing will be Sunday evening, we don't get to many of those these days, do we? Quite fittingly, this is chapter XL- a double as you should all know by now. It's unfortunate- and I've noticed myself saying and writing that a lot lately- that there will be no XXL or XXXL [Technically we did have them, they were just written properly] but I suppose this is better than nothing.**

 **Also interesting is how we had a scheduled double chapter the very same week I started a new job. That wasn't too fun, but at least it's over- for now, at least. I guess I get a month's reprise before the next.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **You're all likely rather eager to get on with the show so I won't postpone it any longer-**

 **Let's get this started!**

* * *

Pale light grew in intensity until the room was awash with the burning orange of a dying sun. Still, she maintained her position as her fingers gently trailed through his crimson hair, her soft sound of her humming filing the otherwise silent apartment.

Much to her disappointment, it was not to last. She wasn't sure when she noticed the change in her lord's face, nor could she tell you the exact moment two brilliant purple eyes had opened to watch her as the land of Nod lost its grasp upon him, but when she did notice her soft smile grew.

"Good evening, Naruto-Sama." She greeted him. "Did you sleep well?"

He made no move to remove himself from his position resting on her lap or stop the fingers that slipped through the mess of crimson atop his head. Similarly, she made no move to stop, intent to have as much contact and spend as much time as she could with her lord now that he had returned to her.

Her humming, too, did not stop, pausing only long enough for her to greet him before resuming the soothing sounds in hopes of keeping him as relaxed as she could.

"I did." His voice, like her humming was soft, having lost the commanding nature it usually possessed. Whether that was due to her presence, the fact that he had just awoke, or in some effort to not drown out her humming neither could say for certain. "Anything happen that requires my attention?"

He did not miss the frown that momentarily crossed her face.

"Perhaps." She kept from giving him a straight answer, knowing that the news would not please him. Having just gotten him back she was loathe to upset him and she was absolutely certain he would immediately throw himself into his work until everything was sorted out to his satisfaction.

Unfortunately, that meant she'd get very little Naruto time.

"Are you sure you want to know now?" She asked. "You only just got back, you should rest."

He raised a brow in inquiry, noting that she, for some reason, didn't want to tell him what had happened. Whether it was because he needn't bother with trivial matters at this time or because something big had happened he wasn't quite sure.

But if he had to guess it would probably be the latter.

"What happened?"

"Nothing that can't wait until at least morning." She insisted, one hand moving from his hair down to his neck and shoulders, noting the rising tenseness. Putting off telling him was already making him agitated, but how much worse would it be to tell him what news a runner brought only hours before his return?

Hoping to relax him, she began lightly rubbing his muscles as her humming resumed.

It wasn't working.

"Mai." The softness in his voice had been drained away completely, replaced by a hard commanding tone he so rarely took with her.

"We caught two spies in Wave." She answered and she sighed slightly in relief when she felt him relax beneath her. It wasn't much but it was noticeable.

"Spies? Is that all? To whom did they belong, Danzou?" Spies were common throughout the elemental nation and there had been a respectable number hovering around Wave ever since his takeover. Their presence would never disappear but the numbers would decrease soon enough. It was nothing to be worried or upset about and he momentarily questioned Mai's hesitance to tell him.

Perhaps it had been the first option, something so common and unimportant that there was no use bothering him with it quite yet.

"Not as far as we can tell, no, Root has been rather open about their identity, which I think is so Danzou can taunt us if one of his agents gets deeper into Wave than we've been allowing them."

Naruto nodded, he'd thought of doing the same thing to Root, just because he knew his Wolves had the same training and were familiar with the shadow organization.

"Then do we know who?"

"Not completely." She answered. "The first was captured, the second killed…" her voice trailed off, not sure what part to mention about the situation first. Does she get the bigger part over with first so the other isn't so bad or does she build up so she can stop if he gets too angered?

"And?" The Father of the Wolves prompted. His eyes had closed again as he enjoyed the gentle ministrations of her nimble fingers.

The bigger news first, she decided. When he asked for more she'd give him the details they knew and he could direct his anger accordingly.

"And there was a third." She stopped there, waiting to see how he'd react. A single eye opened to stare deep into her own.

"A third?" There was a growl to his voice, one so subtle it was nearly inaudible.

"Y-yes, there was a third spy." She paused for a quick breath. "He- he got away, Naruto-Sama."

There was a deep breath and heavy tensing of coiled muscle beneath her fingers but other than that he did not speak. Fists, held to his side, tightened and relaxed almost to the beat of his heart as he did his best to bleed off his rage.

"He got away, you said?" Naruto confirmed. She gave a nod.

"T-that's right, Naruto-Sama."

Another deep breath was taken before his fists relaxed and fingers splayed against the soft blue fabric of his couch.

"Alright, continue."

She looked at him hesitantly, wondering if it was really such a good idea. She knew, however, that disobeying a direct order would be an even worse one. He gave her a lot of leeway, an unbelievable amount that let her do almost anything she pleased, and with his own forces, no less, but in the end she still answered to him.

She still belonged to him.

"They were all wearing tags-" He growled beneath her, already sensing where this was going. Even civilians knew that 'tags' was short for exploding tags, arguably the most dangerous of a Shinobi's tools. "The third managed to remove his own right before the detonation but our Wolves weren't able to react in time."

The way she referred to them as 'our' Wolves, as if shared equally between them, was not lost on him. That did not, however, keep it from being effective. She cared for the Wolves too- she had been one- and they were both working to take care of them. She wasn't just the bearer of bad news, she was one equally- or almost equally- affected by it.

It helped him calm himself, if only a small fraction.

He couldn't let emotion rule him right now, his Wolves needed his leadership and he couldn't do his best for them if his judgment was impaired in any way.

There would be time to rage and mourn later.

A sudden calm came over his body, all tension melting away as his voice lost every hint of emotion. It was not the soft, friendly voice he had used when he woke nor the commanding voice that replaced it when she hesitated to answer him. There was nothing, no rage, no sadness, no way to tell what he was thinking.

This was, without a doubt, far more terrifying than the risk of him having an explosive outburst. His frozen fury, the calm anger that had become infamous within the pack, left no signs of its presence. Serenity on the inside, a raging inferno within.

She had never actually borne witness to this, but she had heard of it. The first time it was observed had been on the day he graduated the academy and nearby Wolves had mentioned it when he met his mother for the first time in four years.

Their words hadn't done it any justice.

While there was no outside sign that he was displeased in any way, there was still a feeling of imminent danger that surrounded him and a cold that seemed to grasp her heart. Perhaps it was just her who felt it, though, as she had come to know him well over the past few years and the utter serenity he exuded at the moment was completely wrong. He shouldn't be calm, not after hearing what he had, and she knew that well enough that the complete lack of reaction he was now showing sent shivers down her spine.

This being resting on her lap was not her Naruto-Sama, not at the moment. He had fallen from his pedestal to temporarily prowl as a Wolf once more.

It was horrible.

It was beautiful.

A man to a beast, and yet he did not seem a beast. But she knew better, she knew him, and this falseness was not her lord.

But it would do her lord's bidding until he could return.

"How many did we lose?"

"A half-guard of seven was caught in the blast, only two made it out."

"I see. And we don't have any idea who did this?" She tried hard not to cringe at the complete casualness in his voice, as if talking about the weather. She knew he was furious, more upset than she and Sai combined could match, but knowing this without being able to see it made her skin crawl.

Perhaps this had been a bad idea, they should have left this to the Wolves to manage- an internal issue sorted out by Sai and, if they could have convinced them- which wouldn't have proven too difficult-, Orochimaru. She was sure the snake sage would be happy to help deal with those who sent the spies against his godson.

"Konoha-" She continued before he jumped to the wrong conclusions. "- but we're not sure who's behind it. One of the survivors was close enough to the captured spy before the detonation to identify him as a Yamanaka clan member, but we don't know about the other two."

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'm going to be paying Inoichi a visit, then. We'll have to get to the bottom of this."

She could have tried to convince him not to, or perhaps even to put it off until tomorrow after he'd had a better chance to think it over, but she knew it would be pointless.

Instead she nodded lightly in agreement.

"Of course, Naruto-Sama. I'll notify the guard."

One had a chance of stopping a wall of fire, even slightly, but there was no way to stop a glacier.

His anger was frozen solid, a wave of ice ready to crush all those who brought upon themselves his ire, and though he moved more slowly than the burning flames his terrible might held far more power in the end.

She almost pitied Inoichi- whether they were his spies or not.

* * *

While she had nothing against him personally, she was quite pleased when he left her home. Normally a meeting between clan heads was nothing special and was to be expected on a semi-regular basis as part of one's duties to the clan.

Inoichi, however, couldn't even be considered a real clan head due to his clan's current position, and that meant there was little he could actually do. In the end, they could talk for a week straight organizing plans to benefit them both, but without Kushina's input it would be little more than wasted time.

And her time certainly felt wasted.

That's not saying it wouldn't have felt wasted talking to someone else, like Kushina herself for example, because while she may be willing to feel out other clans she wasn't going to be making any sort of move without consulting Mai.

As an ally of the Wolves whatever effected them would affect her own clan and the last thing she wanted was to try making an arrangement to benefit her clan with another head only to learn it interfered with plans of the Wolves and ended up hurting her clan more than it helped.

But at least with Kushina she'd have something to take to Mai for the girl to look over. Even if they hadn't planned something, letting them know allowed them to make plans around it and it was possible that they might be able to arrange things to make any deals more favorable.

With Inoichi it could be nothing but half-promises for the future and declarations of intent. Declarations that- coming from him- didn't mean too much.

His daughter's- Ino's- word was worth more, but even that was shaky. For all she- or anybody- knew Naruko would hold the Yamanaka clan under Uzumaki name long after her mother was gone.

It was unlikely, of course, as the two seemed to be friends, but it was still possible and Tsume wasn't going to disregard Kushina's unpredictability. There was no telling what the woman might do when she became more desperate with every failed attempt to entice her son back to the clan.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much to offer him.

Fortunately, she seemed to be realizing that- albeit slowly.

Perhaps she'd calm down sometime soon and stop trying to bribe him back to her arms but rather start building a relationship with him once more. It would never be the same as before she left and thinking it might become stronger was ridiculous- unless they aimed to form a more intimate bond than was proper between mother and son, of course, but that would be no business of hers- but depending on the work they both put in it could be close to what it once was.

But, clans aside, there was an even bigger, far more important reason she was glad to see him go-

Because of him she had to cancel a date with Mai.

Of all days, the bastard had to pick today. Tsume was never a fan of politics and even less so of council meetings where it was all condensed into a single room. Knowing this, she and Mai had planned to meet for lunch afterwards. Instead, she'd been forced to discuss the political sea with Yamanaka Inoichi- a man whom she had never really been close to or friendly with.

And they hadn't gotten anything done!

The information he had shown himself to be all that he knew or, at the very least, all he was letting her know he was aware of. He had been looking for the allies of the Wolves for a while now but had only recently discovered it was them.

How he wouldn't say.

That said, it was understandable he'd aim to maneuver his clan into a favorable position with her own in hopes of gaining the favor of the Wolves.

Understandable, but not appreciated.

Mai had been here, in the house, waiting as he droned on about what their clans could do if they worked together- which, honestly, wasn't much. Their clans just weren't that compatible and if she didn't know his entire goal was to be aligned in some way with the Wolves she'd have thought him an idiot.

Now, however, Mai was long gone. Hours had passed since she smelled one of the young woman's guards nearby. Soon afterwards both scents vanished. Evidently something had come up and stolen away any chance of them getting dinner instead.

It wasn't that big of a deal, it wasn't like their relationship was in any way romantic and it was only as sexual as their teasing. The relationship was a friendly one, a companionship where they could both spend time with someone they enjoyed being around and take a break from the stress of the world around them.

That didn't make her any less irritated about them not going out though.

With a deep sigh, Tsume closed the door to her home.

Even without the date she'd have enjoyed Mai's company, either curled up on the couch or the two of them cuddled together to sleep.

Unfortunately, it looked like it was going to be a lonely night.

* * *

"I promised you, didn't I? But even now my mind wanders away from you." He shook his head. "You really deserve better than that." His voice was a soft murmur, barely audible should someone been standing nearby.

The area around him, however, was empty.

No, not empty, but certainly devoid of people.

Pale fingers trailed gently over rough stone. They never bothered smoothing it, nature would take care of that within the next few years.

He couldn't see the name carved into its face, as the sun had finished its decent earlier that day, but he didn't need to, he knew exactly what it read.

"Yamanaka Tatsuki." His voice had dropped even lower, a faint whisper that even he couldn't hear.

The grin that came to his face was tiny, an almost unnoticeable upturning of his lips.

"You know, you've probably been the source of most of my trouble. If I hadn't met you Mito wouldn't have become jealous, I would never have gone against the Yamanaka, the House of Wolves wouldn't exist, and the closest thing to family I'd have would be a nine-tailed chakra construct." He continued, his grin faltering.

"And above all, you might still be alive." His small smile returned. "Then again, that wouldn't mean much to me if we had never met, yeah?"

Fingers trailed over the cold stone once more, the moon casting pale light against the grey pillar that almost made it glow.

"I suppose in the end I'm grateful for the trouble you've brought me, it's made me who I am and given me both family and purpose once more, though I suppose it would be more accurate to say I'm thankful of the sacrifice you made."

His fingers fell away to rest by his side.

"You may not have given your life willingly, but neither did you curse me for what I did to you. I like to think I was trying to be kind to you in your last moments, indulging your fantasies as the light dimmed in your eyes, but in the end I know it was you who showed the most kindness that night.

"Had you not been so accepting, so forgiving, I don't know what person I'd be today and I doubt I would have dared to make myself a family in the Wolves."

A deep sigh pulled itself from his lips.

"But now I stand before you, ready to go against your family once more. What must you think of me, I wonder, do you look down upon me and regret having ever crossed my path? Once before I brought your clan to its knees, ruining its reputation and leaving them barely able to support themselves, do you hate me for that?"

There was no answer, only the silence of the falling night.

"I suppose I'll never know, or you simply aren't capable of hating me when you no longer draw breath, either way, I hope you'd be able to forgive me for what I've done and for what I'm willing to do, even if I look at what's become of my actions and can't find it within me to regret their results.

"Were I to get a chance to try again, I don't think I could bring myself to change a thing. And for that, more than anything else, I pray for your forgiveness."

A light, bitter laugh left him.

"I think I've finally gotten over you, Tatsuki, I think I've come to terms with your death and my own hand in it."

"And that," he admitted. "Probably scares me more than anything else."

"Because now I risk going through it all again."

* * *

That had not gone very well, he'd be the first to admit it. He shouldn't be surprised, really, he had gone in hurried and half-cocked and had honestly expected something to come of it. Of course, he had overlooked his own position and the true extent of how much it really crippled him and his ability to ensure his family was cared for.

He had been desperate and immediately tried to make something of a plan that wasn't fully formed.

By the gods, he had made the same mistakes Kushina was making.

He, of all people, should have known better with her having taken over his clan and interacting with him on an almost daily basis to go over legal matters that were still being sorted. He, more than anyone, was exposed to the woman and what she was becoming as desperation grasped her more tightly by the day.

And yet he had done exactly what she was doing- the exact same thing that was leading to each one of her recent failures.

If he was honest about it, he was a bit sickened with himself.

She had been a respectable Kunoichi, a great woman, and a loving mother, but now she was very nearly broken with her family slipping further away each day.

And if he wasn't' careful, he may just find himself doing the same.

That was something he'd very much like to avoid, thank you.

Of course, like her, he was desperate and he was, in a way, losing his family. In the end they weren't too different and he had to wonder if it wasn't his extensive training and experience with the human mind that separated the two of them.

Were she trained would she be better off? Were he not would he be as she was?

Despite their recent hardships, that thought alone made him very glad to be a Yamanaka.

The powerlessness when it came to his clan and what he could do to them, however, was not something he enjoyed. He could- and had- spend hours upon hours talking but in the end he could do little more than make others sympathetic to the plight of his clan.

And that meant just about nothing.

Tsume, he knew, hadn't been pleased with him. Even if she hadn't had anything to do that day- though judging by the way her irritation exponentially increased with each passing hour it was very possible she did in fact have things to take care of- he had still taken it from her in its entirety.

No one would appreciate that, even if it did bring about results.

In this case, it did not, and that would only serve to earn more of her ire, he was certain.

He'd have to wait another month or so before trying again, but at least it would give him more time to plan. He just hopped it would be soon enough to ensure his clan wouldn't suffer at the hands of the Wolves once more. Such had been his original intention, of course, but back when he first thought of aligning himself with a common ally to curry some favor with the Wolves he hadn't been planning on sending spies to their new country.

The information was valuable, but there was no denying it had been a horrible idea.

A Kushina-level idea.

Hopefully, if nothing else, Naruto and the Wolves would find him at fault and leave the clan itself alone. Or, were he to be completely honest in his base desires, he would ask that Ino be spared their wrath.

Maybe- maybe Kushina was on to something during that dinner. A marriage between the two would protect the clan and, more importantly, protect his precious daughter.

Of course, now he really sounded like Kushina and his plan was worthy of being called one of her own- hell, it was one of her own.

It was just that it didn't sound like such a bad idea anymore, and that probably wasn't a good sign.

Was he really turning into a second Kushina?

He was nearly sick at the very notion. Before she left, he wouldn't have minded much at all being compared to her, in fact, he would have likely taken it as a compliment. Now, however, he could think of few worse insults and he honestly hoped she managed to return to what she once was before that Kushina- the Kushina so many had looked up to and admired- was lost forever.

Only time would tell.

Still, he was having trouble accepting how stupid he had been- both with Tsume and when he sent spies into Nami no Kuni. At least one of them- very possibly both- was going to come back to bite him in the ass later, he just knew it.

Almost as if the gods agreed and were eager to get started he ended up approaching the compound from the northeastern side on the path that cut through the clan cemetery and would eventually lead to the home of the clan head. He no longer lived there regularly, having taken a guest house with his wife to leave his daughter feeling more like the clan head for her punishment and life lesson, but the guest house was the closest building to the head home.

And because of that, the cemetery path didn't seem like such a bad idea.

After his realization that his recent ideas seemed a bit too much like Kushina's for his comfort that should have been a red flag for him. Unfortunately, he didn't make the connection.

Almost certainly the shortest path, it also provided a bit of extra time and brought him close to his sister's grave. In that case, a visit was probably in order, and that too sounded like a good idea.

That was his second mistake on his walk back home.

When he stopped walking upon seeing someone else standing near her grave instead of bolting away, that was his third.

If the crimson hair hadn't been identifying enough, the young man turned to face the newcomer, purple eyes oddly subdued. There was a brief spark of burning rage but it lasted only a moment, replaced almost immediately by a calm apathy that- while lordly- did not seem to suit the young man.

Or, rather, it suited him- suited him too well- but it wasn't what he had come to know from the leader of the Wolves. Had he been a more ignorant man, he might have dared wonder what could have changed with the boy.

Most unfortunately, he knew very well what could have made that which stood before his sister's grave.

And he was the one to blame for it.

The question, then, was- just how much did Naruto know?

"Ino-" The voice was drawn out with a dying breath, as if time itself had been slowed by his apparent serenity. Despite the calm, it had a most disturbing effect. One fitting, he had to admit, for one who commanded an army of boogeymen. "-Ichi."

A light chuckle that should have been warm and pleasant but was anything but escaped the young man's lips.

"How convenient." He commented. "I was on my way to find you." His eyes, still hiding whatever rage had been felt earlier, hardened noticeably and the neutrally drawn lips turned into a displease frown.

"We need to talk."

Those were not the words Inoichi wanted to hear- ever- but knowing what he did they sounded more like the tolling of a death bell. He was not so lucky that this was all a coincidence, but perhaps he had enough favor with Lady Fortune to somehow escape this.

And if he did? Well, he'd most certainly be seeing that she received suitable offering of thanks.

"Oh? Is there something I or the Yamanaka clan could help you with?" he was exceedingly careful not to say anything about there being a problem lest the boy suspect something. He may not be lucky enough for this to all be a coincidence but he certainly didn't need to try what little luck he did have.

Unlike the Hyuuga, he knew better than to tempt fate.

"Yes, I do believe there is." Naruto turned fully away from the grave to look over the clan head, almost as if his appearance alone could provide all the answers he sought.

"Tell me, Inoichi," The Mindwalker tried to ignore the sweat he felt forming at the back of his head as he employed his training as a Yamanaka to continue looking as calm as could be. "Have you been missing anyone lately?"

"Missing?" he decided to go for clarification before leaping to what he wanted to say. The opportunity had presented itself- by design, perhaps?- and he was intent to take advantage of it if he could. Of course, there was always the chance Naruto was saying things the way he was in hopes that he'd recognize the out provided and would confirm guilt.

It might catch someone else- had nearly caught him in his panic- but the Yamanaka was able to avoid it, if barely. That is, assuming there was something for him to dodge in the first place, he might just be paranoid.

Scratch that, he was a Shinobi- there's no doubt he was paranoid. He could simply be acting a bit too paranoid at the moment and overthinking things, which could be just as bad as not thinking at all.

He continued to clarify his question, acting for all the world like he wasn't quite sure exactly what it was Naruto was asking.

"As in wanting to see them?" It wasn't too stupid a question, after all the young man was still between him and his sister's grave. How he came to such a conclusion should be easy to see. He did not, however, make any mention of his lost sister, as that was a sensitive topic for the both of them.

Like he said earlier, he wasn't going to try his luck and he wasn't dumb enough to tempt fate.

Both Fortune and Fate could be equally cruel mistresses.

Naruto was a perceptive one, and that worked to his advantage in this case. His quick look to where his sister's grave would be had been almost involuntary and Naruto had seen it well enough. It would certainly help him believe Inoichi really wasn't sure what was being asked.

"No." Naruto's voice softened but was still just as slow as it had been before. Perhaps the young man had bought it after all. "I was wondering if there were any members of your clan that may have gone missing."

Inoichi's first thought was to mention three missing Shinobi, but he caught himself before he started. That would have been the most obvious slip he could provide. Hell, he might as well have asked if Naruto had managed to find them for all the subtlety it possessed.

The last spy had managed to get away and another's body was destroyed before he could be unmasked. As far as Naruto should know there was only one confirmed Yamanaka in that group. If Inoichi had his way it would remain like that.

Unless Naruto had access to the clan registry- which he might, actually- and had checked it against presences within the entirety of Konoha and any missions currently active- which he very much doubted the young man could retrieve the information on. Yet, of course- then he should be safe.

There was a risk, but compared to the trouble he could be in it was absolutely minuscule.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I do believe I heard someone mention not being able to find Yatsura the other day and I've been getting complaints that he hasn't shown up for his guard shift these past two days."

"Is that so? How-" Naruto paused blandly, looking wholly disinterested but at the same time almost accusing. "Interesting."

A single bead of sweat trailed down the back of Inoichi's head and he wondered if he'd managed to get away with that. The only successful spy would have to disappear- he could probably be set up as close as Tanzaku-gai – but with the other two dead the chances of being discovered had decreased exponentially.

Something he was very much grateful for.

"It seems he decided to take a little vacation of sorts and ended up running into the local wildlife." 'Wolves' went unsaid but was obvious enough. "I'm afraid to say he's no longer amongst the living."

He certainly didn't seem that way. In fact, if Inoichi didn't know the truth he might have believed the young man before him had killed the man himself without a second thought.

"That's unfortunate, I'll make sure his friends know."

"No family?" A small chuckle escaped his lips and Inoichi found himself on the edge of panic. That had been a slip, a very poor slip. It was small, but would it be enough to reveal his guilt?

"No," Mumbled the lead Wolf. "Of course there isn't any immediate family, it's only natural." He stared directly into the Mindwalker's eyes. "Your friend was most definitely in the wrong place and he paid the price for it."

The space between them was quickly devoured by long strides of Naruto's legs, his moves smooth and elegant yet possessing a power that gave him a presence not expected in one so young.

"I'd recommend you keep a better eye on your clanmates, Inoichi, it would be a shame if more ended up wondering into the territory of aggressive animals."

"I'll take that into consideration, Naruto-San. Thank you for your advice."

Naruto continued to stare at him for a few moments more, separated only by a scant few feet, before nodding in acceptance.

"See that you do." With that he swept past the head of the Yamanaka only to pause a few feet away.

"And Inoichi?" He called back, not turning to face the man he was addressing.

"Yes?"

"If I find you were responsible for him being in the wrong place, we will devour you." He turned his head just enough to meet the taller blond's eyes. "And as angered as I am, that might just be literal."

Finished, he set of again, fading into the early night and leaving Inoichi staring in horror. A shiver worked its way down his spine, his stomach churning. There were many things one could do to send a message and the one chosen was usually determined by the exact message you wanted to send.

But to actually consume an enemy?

There were many ways to interpret that message, but Inoichi knew that sending a message wouldn't be the goal in that case. No, they were not trying to say they were above them in the food chain, or that they were brutal, they would consume him simply because to them he was nothing but flesh.

And what does a wolf care for the name of the hot meat that sates its hunger?

This was not a message, it was a threat, a promise that if he was the one who had injured the pack he would be used to feed the pack.

It was fitting, or it would be if they truly were wolves.

But maybe, just maybe, even if they weren't wolves, they weren't quite human either.

And that was a thought that would rob him of sleep this night.

* * *

It was not the brightness of the rising sun that awoke him that morning, instead it was when his guard- wrapped tightly in his arms, naturally- squirmed in his grasp and her soft voice interrupted his dreams. The voice wasn't directed to him- not at first, at least- but rather to someone else in his room.

Which meant Mai or another of his guards.

Considering the masculinity of the voice, it probably wasn't Mai.

Whatever conversation the two of them were having concluded and he faintly heard the door click shut. Unfortunately that was not a sign that he would be able to return to his rest. The body in his arms turned to face him before trailing fingers over his cheek.

"Naruto-Sama." They whispered. "You have a guest."

He didn't reply, in hopes they might just let him sleep, but that didn't seem to work all that well.

"I know you're not asleep, Naruto-Sama." Her voice was half admonishing and half playful. He was sure if he were to open his eyes it would be to an amused grin.

"No thanks to you." He grumbled, still not opening his eyes. "Whoever's here can wait a bit, they can't be too important or they'd know not to come this early unless it was an emergency."

"Early?" he could hear her giggle. "It's nearly eleven, Naruto-Sama."

Oh, was it that late already? Damn.

He shouldn't have been that surprised, he didn't get to bed until early this morning because he was too busy pouring over Mai's reports- too angered by the news of his lost children to hope to sleep at a decent time.

He eventually calmed down enough to sleep sometime around four and sleep had done well to dissipate most of his remaining anger. He was still rather upset, of course, but the cold fury- a burning rage kept under careful control by sheer resolve alone- had run its course.

There was now a slight emptiness, a faint throbbing of pain within his chest, despite not personally knowing those lost. Because close to them or not, they had been under his care, they were his responsibility.

And he had failed them.

But while he was saddened by their loss, he would not be brought down by it. Instead he would use it to push himself to new heights in hopes of being able to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. He would not succeed, not at first, and he would continue to lose Wolves- this he knew well enough- but each time it happened he was determined to have done better than the last.

It was this thought that allowed him to release his otherwise all-consuming rage and continue to be the leader his children needed.

Telling Inoichi they would eat him had helped too, though.

Still, he hadn't been asleep for an abnormal amount of time and that meant everything else could wait for now.

"So?" He asked, pulling her closer to his body and slowing his breathing in preparation to return to the embrace of sweet sleep.

"It's the goddess, she needs to speak with you." He didn't even hesitate in his response.

"Which one?" He mumbled. "Hinata or Mikoto?"

"Hinata or Mikoto?" Ah, that's right, she wouldn't know about Mikoto, would she? She had been part of his group when she visited but her name hadn't been spoken and she exited and entered his carriage wearing her mask to protect her identity. "Don't you mean Hinata no Mikoto?"

"No, Hinata or Mikoto. There's two."

"Oh." She paused momentarily, not having expected that, but quickly resumed speaking. "Well, it's Hinata no Mikoto who's here for a visit."

"And she can't just join us for now? We can talk later."

"Join us? She's like twelve."

At that he did open his eyes, one brow rising in question.

"You realize I'm twelve too, right?" Her embarrassed blush was well worth the effort of moving his eyelids.

"My apologies, Naruto-Sama, it's so easy to forget sometimes." She hesitated before continuing. "Did you still want me to invite her to your bed?"

Naruto blinked a few times as he processed her words. They just sounded so…dirty despite remaining proper. It was like listening to a polite Anko, if he thought about it.

And the very notion of such was simply far too strange for his tastes.

"No," he sighed. "It's fine, I'll get up."

With Anko on the brain, he half expected his current companion to make some comment about being able to help him get up. Instead she simply nodded before slipping out of his bed and quickly making her way out of the room.

He didn't think to mention the fact that her uniform was still here on the floor.

Rolling out of bed with a groan he contemplated throwing on a shirt before deciding not to bother. Hopefully his Wolf had left to start some coffee because he was not yet ready for today.

Stretching as he walked, he left the room and headed to the kitchen. Much to his delight she was indeed making coffee. Slipping into a seat at his table he gave a nod of greeting to the former Hyuuga heiress sitting across from him.

After a mug had been placed before him and he had taken his first glorious sip he turned his attention fully to the young woman who had come to visit him at the ungodly hour of eleven.

There was really nothing different about her, he noted idly, other than the size of her current blush. Whether it was due to his shirtlessness or the half-naked woman returning to his room for her clothes he couldn't tell.

He also couldn't bring himself to care.

"So, Hinata," His voice broke the silence. "You needed to see me?"

"A-ah, yes, I've been instructed to invite you to the compound."

"An invite to the compound?" his brow rose. "Whatever for?"

"Hiashi-Sama never properly thanked you for defending the clan's pride."

"Come again?" Defending the clan? When had he done that?

"When you stopped Ino from pushing me around." She offered helpfully.

"Oh, yeah." It could be seen that way, he supposed, but they were going to thank him for it? And this late? He had to wonder why they'd even- ah, of course. It was really more of an excuse than anything else, wasn't it? Just a way to meet with him. Very well, he wasn't opposed. " So they want me to visit sometime?"

"T-tonight, if you're available." She answered. "Hiashi-Sama was planning on hosting a dinner for you."

"I see, I guess I should notify Mai and see about finding something to wear then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Hinata, let your father know I accept his invitation."

"Of course, Naruto-san" Her face light up in red once more, this time in panic. "Ah! I'm sorry, I'll let him know Naruto-Sama."

He waved her off, unconcerned. It's not like he had ever instructed anyone as to how he wished to be addressed, people just did it on their own.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. You can address me however you like."

She nodded in acceptance but wasn't about to tell him she liked calling him Naruto-Sama.

Besides, he had just given her permission to do so, hadn't he?

* * *

He whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled down the streets, one hand in his pocket and the other holding open his favorite literature. He didn't go out much when he didn't have to- much preferring the privacy of his apartment- but last night he had learned the most interesting bit of news.

Apparently the Wolves were to be openly present here in Konoha.

From what he had heard, they were already here.

In his book- the one that was a figure of speech, not his actual book. He would never dare put anything personal within the glorious pages of Jiraiya-Sama's writing- that was a good thing.

A very good thing.

Because that meant all he had to do to track down Naruto- who had become more and more elusive as of late- was find a Wolf and ask for directions.

How convenient.

Of course, he didn't have any confirmation that Naruto really was Tsukiyomi or even that he was associated with the Wolves but this would serve as a perfect opportunity to find out. He'd like to have been able to just ask Tsunami, who should have met with him, but most unfortunately he had not been able to visit the beauty again yet.

Taking leave so soon after an escalated mission that was stretched longer than it was supposed to without proper authorization or even notice was, he had been told, rather frowned upon. Or at least those were the words the Hokage had used, the message had been more of 'So help me, if you pull anything like this shit again I swear by the gods above I will personally castrate you and shove your manhood so far up your ass you'll fucking choke, understood?'

Personally, he enjoyed the translation more. Pussyfooting around was just a waste of time, it was better to just say what's on your mind to ensure the message is properly received and understood.

Other than that, the only thing that he didn't like about what the Hokage had really meant to say was that he was under the impression his entire manhood would fit up his rectum before he started choking on it.

He was Kakashi fucking Hatake, after all.

Horses cried in shame at his very passing.

Or that's what he liked to think, anyway. Tsunami certainly hadn't disagreed and neither had anyone else he had ever slept with, either. That was a pretty good sign that he wasn't full of himself if he did say so himself.

But if he pissed the Hokage off again he likely would be.

That wasn't the most pleasant of thoughts.

Banishing it from his mind with memories of Tsunami's wonderful ass and all the fun they had he continued on his merry way, his single eye occasionally peaking up from his book to scan his surroundings for Wolves.

Admittedly, he wasn't trying all too hard to find them- he'd run into one eventually, after all- but he was looking for him. The problem was that his book- regardless of how many times he had read it [One thousand seven-hundred and nine, but who's counting?]- was just as good as when he was first gifted it by the student of its author.

Choosing to read it was probably the best decision of his life.

No, make it second-best.

Tsunami came in first place without question.

Anyway, he had come out of his apartment –or, rather, had refrained from returning immediately to his apartment after dismissing his students from a half-assed training session- with the intent to find a Wolf. Honestly, he did. Icha-Icha, however, just had too much power over him.

Not that he was complaining.

Still, he was irritated- a minuscule amount, but just enough to count- that he wasn't actually accomplishing the goal he set out to. He had to options here, go home and just read or put away his book and actually look for his targets.

Being Kakashi, he chose the third option and continued what he was doing while thinking of ways to take out his frustration at his current situation on his students during tomorrow's training.

Across Konoha, three unlucky Genin shivered in simultaneous dread for reasons they didn't quite want to ponder.

Deftly avoiding the crowds that swarmed around him, he wondered what Naruto had been up to. You know, other than running a mercenary organization under Konoha's- or the majority of it- nose. He had never been close to the kid, busy with his ANBU work and now that he was a Sensei with lots of down time the boy was busy taking over countries and joining imperial courts.

He had heard something about Yugao giving him some training while he was still in the academy, maybe they could spar or something. They could always go to a bar, too, and then the young man could be his wingman.

No, that was probably a bad idea.

But he could be Naruto's wingman, he supposed.

That might work.

Then again, maybe that was a bit much when they had previously only ran into one another on the street occasionally.

He'd have to start somewhere more mild, maybe a strip club?

Actually, he didn't know how innocent Naruto was, did he? Anko hung around him, but he didn't know for certain if she'd shown him the light- or just how much light she had shown him. Perhaps it would be best to start at the beginning.

Okay, not the beginning, he wasn't giving the talk, but the next logical step-

Icha-Icha.

He could give the boy his first copy to start his collection off, just as his Sensei had given him his first Icha-Icha. It would be a bonding experience, something good for the boy.

Now, was hiring a pair of whores to act out scenes too much?

Yeah, it probably was.

Just one, then, to read it to the both of them-

Naked, of course.

* * *

Inuzuka Kiba considered himself a pretty laidback guy, one who, while energetic, wasn't bothered by much and had just as much chance of laughing at your insult as punching you in the face.

The idea that his mother might have a lover, however, was definitely something that bothered him.

It wasn't like he didn't know about sex and didn't understand how his mother might have been lonely all these years, but it was his mother! The idea that someone was sleeping with her just felt wrong.

If she had remarried it might have been easier for him to accept .After all, it would only be expected that a married coupled share a bed. It would be easy to overlook some of the activities they might get up to in said bed.

The problem in this case was that he hadn't even met the bastard!

There was some fucker in his house sleeping with his mother and he didn't have the faintest idea who it was. His mother had always been rather upfront with a tendency to be brutally honest so for her to be doing this in secret had him suspicious.

Were it not for her recent good mood he may have wondered if she was being blackmailed or otherwise forced into the situation, but she seemed pleased enough with whatever hidden arrangement she had.

Well, until yesterday, at least. She wasn't very pleased when he returned for dinner but his thoughts that it may have had something to do with her mysterious lover died when she began complaining about Inoichi, Ino's father. Normally she'd be irritated but this went beyond every other time he had seen her ticked off- even those times he did something really, really stupid.

So while he was fairly certain her bad mood wasn't directly related to her secret lover, it was likely caused because she hadn't been able to meet with him due to an extremely long meeting with the Yamanaka Head.

Was she, perhaps, getting close to her lover? Might this not be some casual fling?

Knowing she'd be continuing in the future still felt weird to him, but the promise of stability for his mother was equally as comforting in this situation. And then there was the third part he wasn't too sure about- if this was going to become a permanent thing would he be meeting the fucker?

It would put his mind at ease to have a face to associate with her lover and a way to track the bastard down if he hurt her but if they were important enough to her for her to introduce him to her family would he be able to refrain from slugging him?

Mentally, he cursed- a habit he picked up being on Kurenai's team and having lived his life around two women with exceptional hearing. They may not have minded as much as his sensei did but you really couldn't mutter anything under your breathe when those two could probably hear a butterfly's wings beat. Or, they could when you said something bad about them, at least.- this would be so much easier if he didn't know anything about what his mother was getting up to when he was out training.

At first he hadn't thought much of her wearing pants again before noon, he only saw her in passing when he had to run home to pick something up, after all. The fact that she wasn't lounging on the couch or sitting behind her desk in a bathrobe didn't seem important at the time.

Then came the dishes. He didn't do them very often, but even he could recognize when there were more dirty dishes then there should be with a family of three, especially when he was only here for two meals and his sister was usually here for just one.

Someone had been over, it was easy enough to see, but it could have been an old friend of hers stopping by for a visit or a meeting between clan heads.

But as the extra dishes became a more frequent occurrence and his mother stopped wearing pants regularly he had started to become suspicious. With Hana gone doing something for the clan- something he, as the child of the head, would usually be informed of,- and him spending most of his time training and doing missions with his team the house was mostly empty for the better part of each day.

And that had him realizing that ever since he had started at the academy the house had only his mother within it.

Only his mother- and whoever had been visiting her.

The connection had been made then and everything started to make just a bit more sense. Her happy mood, her work being done more quickly, she even left food in the fridge a few times because she was 'out with friends'.

She never went out with friends!

He had cursed himself then for being so blind and again for choosing now to start seeing what was really going on. Blissful ignorance lost, he had to face the fact that some asshole was getting with his mom regularly for who knows how long now.

There was really nothing to kit now, though, was there? She had a lover and he wasn't going to try to stop that, it wasn't good for his health you know.

He'd put him in his place, of course, that was his mother, but he would let her make her own decisions.

Unless she was getting with Hyuuga Hiashi.

That's where he drew the line.

The man was a huge ass and his mother deserved better.

The fact that he liked Hinata, who very well might become his sister in law in that situation had nothing to do with his adverseness to it.

No, not at all.

Seriously.

Okay, maybe a little bit.

* * *

She was a woman on a mission, or so she liked to think, sneaking her way to her target to fulfill her objective. She paid no mind to all who stared at her, ranging anywhere from veteran ANBU to the most unaware civilian child, as far as she was concerned not a single one actually saw her as she dived from roof to roof.

She was a Ninja- a Kunoichi, specifically- and that meant she was sneaky even when she wasn't trying to be sneaky.

This wasn't really the case, but no one was about to break it to her.

Slipping through the shadows- which weren't really there, considering she was out in the open and was bathed in the bright glow of Hi no Kuni's afternoon sun- she was like a whisper of the wind- a whisper of rather loud expletives as she tripped over another potted plant hidden just beyond the wall of a rooftop garden.

It didn't matter though, even her cursing was sneaky.

Nearby ANBU, watching her in amusement and shaking their heads in mirth, wouldn't quite agree, but neither were they foolish enough to voice their opinions to the woman.

She could be damn scary when you pissed her off.

Well, she could be damn scary when she liked you, too, so it was probably safest to say the woman was damn scary and pissing her off simply made her downright terrifying.

They liked their balls just where they were, thank you.

Amused, and more than a bit confused as to what exactly she was doing, they watched as she vaulted over a small wall and onto the streets below. Out of view, she slipped into an alleyway, completely hidden form everyone including the civilian shopkeep who had been putting out the trash.

Brushing past the oblivious man, one who was more than happy to watch as she walked away, she continued to her destination with utmost confidence in her ability to complete her self-given mission.

She paused behind a crate, one that barely came up to her knees, as she neared the location of her mark. Ignoring the fact that even crouched her cover did almost nothing to hide her from view she scoped out the surrounding area.

The position was well enough defended for having been designed as a civilian dwelling, she supposed. There were guards posted in ways that kept regular citizens from taking note but ensured anyone with training would be able to see them. It was a warning of sorts, security that could work simply by dissuading anyone who might try anything.

Unfortunately for them-and fortunately for her- it made them easy to locate so she could find some way to avoid them. Even now they had no idea she was there, watching and waiting to slip past them and get to the one protected inside like the chewy center of a hard candy.

She pointedly ignored the polite clearing of a throat behind her as one of the very guards she was trying to avoid attempted to get her attention.

Digging through one of her pouches- curse her lack of pockets!- she retrieved her key- quite literally- to get in. With a quick look in every direction but behind her- where there was still a guard she was ignoring- she dashed from her cover and to the main- and only- door to the residence.

With deft fingers she quickly broke in- by using the key so thoughtfully given to her- and closed the door behind her. She caught her breath as she leaned against the door, hoping she hadn't been seen by any of the guards. When they didn't come- still trying to figure out exactly what it was she was doing- she gave a sigh of relief.

Remembering her objective she dropped to a crouch, her weight resting on the balls of her feet as she began creeping through the small apartment. She made no noise- except for when she dropped her key- and slunk through the main room like death herself.

The bedroom was the first place she went but her target wasn't there. A pout fell over her lips, she had really hoped they would be in here. Turning back, she made for the kitchen. They weren't even trying to be quite as they moved about – which begged the question why hadn't she heard them while passing through the main room?- which meant she could still complete her mission.

Dishes clinked in the sink as footsteps drew closer. Retreating back to the bedroom she slipped into the doorway to hide herself from sight. When they exited the kitchen she would strike, her target completely unaware.

Tile, tile, tile- carpet! They were in the main room. With a mighty battle cry of "Surprise attack!" she launched herself from the bedroom to tackle her target. With a pleased grin she looked down at her fallen foe- currently smothered between her breasts- but it quickly melted from her face, replaced once more with a pout.

Black hair? Her target didn't have black hair.

"Oh, it's you." The young woman under her hadn't looked too pleased when she was brought down to the floor but her comment certainly didn't improve that.

As she sat up, releasing her victim from the weight of her breasts, it was easy to see the frown on her face.

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Mitarashi-San." She said dryly.

Anko just rubbed the back of her head as a nervous laugh escaped her lips.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just hoping for Naruto-Kun. I heard he returned recently."

"Where did you- no, wait, nevermind. I don't really care how you found out."

"So?"

"So what?" Asked Mai.

"Where is he?"

"He just left to have dinner with Hinata-san and her family."

"What? He went to see her first, not the great and sexy Mitarashi Anko?!" She crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance. "That's bullshit."

Her tone still dry and her body still pinned by the Tokubetsu Jounin, Mai blandly commented "Quite."

And thus operation 'Welcome Naruto-Kun Back By Crushing Him With My Boobs And Making Him Treat Me To Dango' ended in failure.

If Mai hadn't seemed so irritated at her she may have tried to salvage it with operation 'Pounce On Mai And Make her Treat Me To Dango.' But she doubted it would work.

"Say, Mai…"

But she tried it anyway.

* * *

 **Anko-Chan! Oh, by the gods I enjoy writing her, it's just so much fun.**

 **But with that act XL is complete and I bid you all a good evening, I look forward to seeing you back in my theatre for next week's performance.**


	41. The Third Choice

**Most of the Hyuuga dinner in this one, it should be finished with the next chapter.**

 **Not much to say, so thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

He had to hand it to her, for telling her the same day that he needed something appropriate to wear to a dinner with the head of the Hyuuga clan Mai had done a great job with his attire. His loose black clothing was plain but fine- almost exquisitely so – and did well to highlight his pale skin which, in turn, further brought out the color of his hair and eyes.

If he was honest, however, he much preferred the furs he had worn to meet with the Yamanaka last month. They might not have been all that impressive, but they were certainly very comfortable.

That was not to say these were not so, for the soft fabric was pleasantly cool to the touch and hug loosely enough to only ghost against his skin, but the simplicity of the furs and their heavy warmth brought with it a comfort that was hard to match.

Still, he supposed he could get used to this clothing, not that he had much of a choice. Even if he didn't say anything about his new status as a Daimyo Mai would take it upon herself to ensure he was properly robed for his station.

She was also unlikely to take no for an answer.

It was for the best, really, because he was far more inclined to go about his business as if he were still the young academy student who had somehow gained himself an army. Image was important, yes, but Naruto had never really gone for proper- he typically leaned towards impact. He wasn't trying to fit in, he was sending a message. That message was usually delivered with his actions, too, so what he wore wasn't all that important.

Unfortunately, there were still rules to this game and he couldn't expect to break them all if he intended to continue playing. And out of all the rules, dressing the part was not too terrible a burden on him.

There was also something to be said about dressing up. The right outfit could make or break one's image but it could also affect the wearer's mentality. The furs were wild, feral, but filled with a natural power. These black robes, however, made him feel like the Daimyo he now was. Refined power and cold calm, he had always been a lord but now he could actually think of himself as one.

Pity, still, that he wasn't likely to don his furs again. Even if his current attire wasn't more appropriate Mai herself had told him she thought he looked better in these black garments and that meant they were going to stay if she had any say about it.

She did, in case you weren't quite sure.

Smoothing his sleeves- and checking that both daggers were present- his hands moved down to the purple sash that separated his black top from his equally dark pants. He was careful to keep his fingers from catching upon the fine gold embroidery- he wasn't all that sure it wasn't actual gold and it would surprise him if it had been-as he subtly checked to ensure the four daggers stored there yet remained.

He didn't stop to check the location of the seventh dagger- it was quite impossible to do so while he continued to walk- but he could feel it well enough pressed against his outer right calf and held there by the white bandages that bound his pants to his woven sandals.

His footwear, it would seem, was the most basic thing he was wearing as far as he knew, for there was nothing that seemed to separate them from any other pair. Of course, Mai was just as practical as she was determined to dress him in the finest, so he wouldn't be all surprised if she had forgone anything fancy so he might have a reliable pair of sandals should something happen.

He was hoping nothing did- he really was- but it never hurt to be ready to make a break for it should the gods grow bored.

Gods, of course, reminded him of the Hyuuga's belief in fate and that nearly caused a groan to escape his lips. If Hiashi was like most Hyuuga fate was bound to come up often enough throughout the dinner, especially if he stayed for a while- which was likely in this situation, for the dinner would easily take several hours and could quite possibly take at least eight considering the Hyuuga's status- and that was going to get real old real fast.

This diner had the potential to be a royal pain in his ass, but at least Hinata would be there. With any luck, he should be able to use her to slightly manipulate conversation and steer them back on track should Hiashi start going on about fate.

That's what he hoped, at least.

* * *

She tried hard not to stare, or that's what she told herself- but this was the boy who had stood up for her sister?

By the gods, no wonder the former heiress seemed smitten!

Many of the men within her clan were considered rather attractive in an almost feminine way both within and without the clan but never before had she ever been tempted to call a man beautiful.

The young man before her, however, could be described in no other way.

And to think, he wasn't just the one who had declared her sister under his protection, but he was the one from which she sought protection now- the young man with connections to the fearsome Wolves, a group that had recently been declared a noble house by the Daimyo himself.

Naruto, she was certain, would look right in place amongst the Imperial Fire Court.

The thought was enough to bring a faint dusting of red to her cheeks, small enough to go unnoticed in the orange light of the formal dining room of the compound but enough for her to be able to feel her cheeks grow warm.

It was hard, however, to break her eyes away from him and no doubt her sister- and perhaps even her father- would agree.

The midnight cloth that was loose enough to not be constricting but cut closely enough to be form fitting absorbed the light around him while his pale skin reflected the light of the room, a contrast that made her doubt- if only for a second- that he was just a young man.

A beautiful young man, but a young man nonetheless.

His hair, unlike his skin, did not reflect the light. Instead it seemed to capture it, burning with flaming orange with the flickering of the candles. It was as if his head was crowned in living flames, the son of Amaterasu given flesh.

Then again, with how beautiful he seemed to her, could this not, perhaps, be Amaterasu herself come down to visit the mortal plane?

Her body trembled slightly at the idea.

If it really was Amaterasu sitting at their table, known and contacted by her sister Hinata, maybe there was some truth to the idea of Hinata being some sort of goddess or at least being connected to Fate in some way they couldn't understand.

She shook her head, dislodging the thought that attempted to take root. That line of thinking was ridiculous. Her sister wasn't a deity and neither was the boy sitting across from her father.

Even as she dismissed the notion his purple eyes shone with more light than should be possibly reflected from the open flames and another tremble went through her small frame.

Her sister wasn't a deity, she was resolute in that fact, but Naruto-

Naruto just might have ties to the gods.

And that was just more reason for her to put herself in his good grace.

* * *

A soft smile graced her lips as she took a look at her sister. Even with the light hiding her blush, it did nothing to disguise the way she was looking at their guest. Not that she could blame her, really.

An imposing figure was the one he cut, straight-backed, regal, and absolutely commanding. He did not look comfortable in his attire, these new black garments colored with only a dash of purple and a faint glittering of gold, but neither did he look uncomfortable.

It was as if he had always been to wear them, for they fitted him perfectly in the status he had come into so recently. Hyuuga Hinata never put much stock into fate, not like the rest of her family, but even she couldn't deny that something more seemed to have a hand in the life of the young man sat so elegantly at their table, looking for all the world as if it were perfectly natural for him to be found dining with the head of the Hyuuga.

Her eyes took him in briefly and she felt her own cheeks grow warm. His attractiveness was undeniable, something made obvious by her younger sister's poorly hidden attempts to stare at him throughout the dinner, but there was a large difference, she was learning, between when he was simply going about his business and when he was taking care of it.

The confidence and authority that rolled off him filled the room, drawing all eyes to him and commanding their full attention. Even her father had to make visible effort to look at his daughters during the diner conversation lest it appear as if he were staring at his honored guest.

Despite having the full attention of everyone there, Naruto didn't seem to notice at all, Something Hinata immediately knew was far from the truth. Still, he simply sat there, the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips, as he politely responded to her father's words.

Had she not known the leader of the Wolves as she did she might have been inclined to believe he was simply the quiet type, shy and unwilling to enter the spotlight. His forceful presence, even when he was only occasionally nodding along to whatever her father was saying, should have been enough to tell the uninformed how incredibly wrong they were.

No, he was only being quiet because it was not yet time for him to make any sort of move. Just as her father sought to get a read on his guest that very same guest was feeling out her father, analyzing everything about him to see how he could best benefit from his current situation.

He was undoubtedly a wolf, one usually on the prowl, but right now she likened him unto a serpent lying in wait to strike, a forked tongue hidden until it was time to coax his prey into a false sense of comfort and security.

It was odd, she had to admit, that he always seemed to resemble a different animal. Was it simply because there was no one creature that he fully resembled, or did he change whenever it suited him to best further his goals?

Hinata, unsurprisingly, had a feeling it was quite likely both.

Turning away from the young man who's exact role in her life she couldn't quite define, her lavender eyes fell upon her sister who was still doing her best to look only mildly interested in her guest. If nothing else, it let Hinata know exactly why her sister had brought up the matter of never having thanked Naruto for his actions of defending the honor of the clan- or whatever bullshit it was that had her father agreeing. She swore, Hanabi either really believed in the foolish teachings of the elders or was simply far too good at using them to manipulate their father- and it threatened to turn her soft smile into a full grin.

Careful to ensure it didn't, she had to momentarily puzzle as to why her sister had wanted to meet with Naruto. His connection to the Wolves- or 'powerful allies' as her father had said- had been known for over a year without her saying anything and it wasn't until after Hanabi had brought up the subject of meeting with him that the House of Wolves was announced as being part of the Imperial Fire Court, so that couldn't have been it.

What then, had been her reason?

Could it have nothing to do with the Wolves at all? Was it because she was just curious about him, having heard her talk of him or seen him about the village?

Did it have something to do with her? Was that why her sister had grown a sudden interest? But that didn't make any sense, she really hadn't been doing anything. In fact, other than meet with some of the more influential members of her flock- Naruto's, she corrected herself- she really hadn't been up to much.

And that's when the thought hit her.

If she had just been tending to the flock, and her actions were behind Hanabi's desire to meet with Naruto- the young man to proclaim her as under his protection back in the academy- did Hanabi somehow know of the flock?

And if so, what was she planning?

* * *

Dinner continued along much the same track for the next two hours, Naruto paying no mind to the nervousness that had come over Hinata and being only faintly interested in the combination of hesitation and hope within the eyes of her sister as she continued to gaze upon him.

Neither of those things bothered him. Hiashi, on the other hand, was getting on his nerves.

No doubt it was a sentiment shared.

Long had he been used to being able to get a read on people around him and he was, if he did say so himself, fairly competent in the games that were so often played during the difficult dance of politics.

Unfortunately, the same seemed to hold true for Hiashi as well. Were it not for the barely noticeable look on his face that so matched his own feelings on this matter he may have entertained the thought he was outmatched. This was better, this equality, but it made it no more tiring to deal with.

Other than the slow progress as both attempted to get a feel for the other without showing their own hands- which, admittedly, might have been easier if the Clan Head had been inclined to underestimate him- things were going along quite well. Music filed the air from an adjacent room, passing through the thin walls with an only slightly muffled ease, and the food was good. The atmosphere, while formal, was still warm and decently comfortable to one who had already dined at the Daimyo's palace.

All in all, he was quite enjoying himself, despite the tedious nature of his current game with his host.

Still, he couldn't help but be a bit grateful towards the youngest daughter- the one who didn't seem quite able to decide if his being there was a good thing or not- when she spoke up for what had to be less than the dozenth time that evening.

"Father, we've been dining for some time now." She started. "Perhaps we might break for a few minutes? I could show our guest around the gardens."

The thoughtful frown only took up his face for a moment before he nodded.

"A sound suggestion." Agreed the Clan head. "I'm certain we could all use a moment to stretch our legs and let our meal settle." He turned to his eldest daughter. "Inform the kitchens that we've finished with the meal and we'll have something sweet when we return."

It was obvious, to Naruto at least, that he wanted a moment to himself so he might think over the meeting thus far without having to continue conversation. It was understandable and Naruto had to mentally tip his hat to the man. As he would be touring the gardens with the heiress he wouldn't have the same advantage.

Knowing this, he couldn't help but meet the man's eyes, smirk, and incline his head the barest amounts to say he knew very well what was being done.

He knew- and he approved.

A similar smirk- though noticeably smaller- ghosted over Hiashi's lips and for a moment it looked like the man didn't know if he was more disappointed at being seen though so easily or amused that the boy did, in fact, seem to be his match.

It was an odd thing, no doubt, to the both of them.

Not often enough did they find themselves challenged.

Despite himself, and even knowing what was going on in the clan behind the man's back, Naruto found himself liking the head of the Hyuuga clan.

It would be a shame if he got in the way.

* * *

The sun had fully set sometime during their dinner and now only a shiver of warmth remained in the night air, soon to be chased away as night fully overtook the world. There were few lanterns lit around the compound- likely due to the fact that the sentries didn't need it to be too bright to detect intruders- but the full moon was more than enough to light the darkness around them.

Other than the faint rustle as a gentle breeze caressed nearby plans and the occasional swishing of their clothing there was little other sound as they walked over the path of the main Hyuuga gardens. He expected there to be at least someone around but perhaps they simply had a tendency to retire earlier than most of the village. That or someone had arranged for privacy. Whether that had been Hiashi, Hanabi- he briefly looked at the young woman walking beside him- or if it was simply coincidence- or even other clanmembers simply seeing them and granting them privacy of their own volition- he didn't know.

He was also unsure if it mattered.

"N-Naruto-San?" Her voice broke the comfortable silence that had been between them and he looked back at her. She had spoken and yet her eyes dared not meet his own, almost as if she were scared-no, she didn't seem scared, more like hesitant- worried.

"Yes, Hanabi-San?" he gave her a soft smile, more to reassure her than because he was enjoying her company- which, in fact, he was, but that was beside the point- but whether she actually managed to see it remained unknown to the young Daimyo.

"Might we sit for a moment?" She asked, gesturing to a nearby bench. "I- I would like to speak with you."

Raising a brow he frowned. This was odd, he honestly had no idea what she might want to speak to him about. Then again, he also couldn't think of anything she might want to talk about that would necessarily be a bad thing and so with a curt nod he agreed.

"Certainly."

The two of them moved to sit upon the cold stone of the bench and silence descended once more. This didn't bother Naruto any, he could wait to hear that which she wanted to say. And if she didn't say it? Well, he'd be a bit curious, but it no real loss as far as he knew.

It was nearly five minutes of silence later that she had screwed up her courage and dove straight in.

"I know of Hinata no Mikoto."

A brow rose but he made no other indication he had heard her.

Still, starting with that? He knew she was the heiress now, shouldn't that mean she was being trained to be the next Head? Hiashi knew the game, he played damn well too, so was she doing this on purpose or was she simply hopeless when it came to subtlety?

Had he been a lesser man she would have been dead as soon as the words had registered and he would have worried about who else might have known and how it was she found out later. Luckily for her, he was not a lesser man and he was smart enough to hear her out before he decided on which course of action he wanted to take.

"Of who, now?"

She shot him a slight glare, her sharp features reminding him of her father. It was obvious who she took after and it would seem he would be at a bigger disadvantage than he had previously realized. While Hiashi had time to mull over his thoughts in peace, he would be continuing with the game- albeit at a lesser level.

If this had been the man's plan Naruto both cursed and applauded him.

If not, well, he was still at a disadvantage, wasn't he?

"I know you know."

He couldn't stop the slight smirk that tugged at his lips.

"And now I know you know I know what, exactly?"

She scowled- something that was really more adorable than anything else considering her age and small size- and shot him a dirty look.

"About Hinata no Mikoto."

"What is it I'm supposed to know that you know I know about Hinata no Mikoto?"

She growled- actually growled! He was starting to like this one!- before grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him closer to her. Their noses were touching before she realized there was a blade to her throat and his amused expression had completely melted of his face.

Slowly she released her hold on him, her eyes never leaving the cold metal held against her skin.

"We'll think better of trying that again, now, won't we?"

She barely kept herself from nodding.

"Y-yes." She most certainly would, that had nearly cost her life when all she intended to do was glare at him and tell him to knock it off.

"Now, you were saying?" he prompted as he returned his blade to the purple sash wrapped around his waist.

"I know what Hinata's doing." She began again. It was obvious she was going to have to be completely open and hope she was right. There was little chance of being wrong but a little chance was more than enough for something to go wrong. "And I know the Wolves are with her."

"Do you now? How interesting." He didn't sound interested, not in the slightest, and the way he frowned down at her like an angered god had her wanting to shrink into herself. Never again, she promised herself, would she be so foolish as to touch him without permission.

At least, not until they were on at least friendly terms. She had to remember that this wasn't someone at the academy or a lesser ranking member of the clan. This was not even an equal- he was superior to her. Riling her up or no, she should not have dared to be so free with her actions. She was the Hyuuga heiress, the daughter of Hiashi, she was better than to lose control like that for even a second.

"I know you have ties to the Wolves- close ties- and I'm not so foolish as to think that even if my father and the elders win our clan won't fall apart."

"Win? What is there to win?"

"The clan." Her answer was immediate. "Hinata has a following of branch members and eventually either she'll make a move or my father will learn and take action. Either way people associated with the main branch- people like me- will lose."

"Oh?" One brow raised in question, curiosity plain on his face. "And how do you figure that?"

"Even if the branch members don't kill us all, the clan itself with collapse without them. Either way it will be weakened, but with the Wolves supporting my sister it won't affect them as much."

"I see, so are you trying to say you wish to support your sister?"

Her eyes immediately flashed with rage.

"No!" She practically spat. "I will not join her as she destroys our clan-" The young girl seemed to deflate side him. "-But I can't do anything to stop her."

"Why is it, then, you wished to speak with me?"

"Because I want out. I may not be able to stop our fall, but I'll be damned if I'm taken down by my sister. You're with the Wolves and the Wolves are allied with Hinata."

"I suppose I could talk with them…"

"That's- that's not what I'm asking for."

"And what you are asking is..?"

She hesitated for a second before damning her pride and tossing herself to the ground before him, prostrating herself at his feet.

"Protection." Her voice was somewhat muffled by her position but he heard her well enough. "I ask for protection under you, Naruto-Sama."

He blinked several times as he processed what she was saying. That had been wholly unexpected. Here he was, prepared to cut her down to keep Hinata's actions a secret and she was willing to throw away her pride for just the barest hopes of saving herself.

He had not seen this coming, but as a smile stretched across his face a small chuckle escaped his lips.

He may not have ever considered this happening, but he certainly wasn't about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

Moving from the bench he had just enough room to crouch down above her. Cupping her cheek with one hand he brought her face to look at his own.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking?" He questioned. "Do you truly comprehend what it is you're doing?"

"Y-yes, Naruto-Sama, I know what I'm asking and what position I'm putting myself in but I don't have any other choice. I will not survive on my own and the only way to live with the Hyuuga would be to hope I'm spared long enough to plead at my sister's feet. I would rather have the choice of pledging myself to another than be forced into such a position."

Admirable, he supposed. Rather useless for her in the end, but who was he to complain? With both daughters of the Clan Head the Hyuuga were as good as his already. Not that they weren't already, but this only further guaranteed it.

He thought briefly of using her to turn more of the Hyuuga to his side before things came to a head within the clan but decided better of it. People would become suspicious and that wasn't good. It wasn't time for Hinata's little cult to be discovered- not yet. He'd simply squirrel her away until everything had passed and she could either be used to support Hinata's rule or could be placed in the position as Head to command the clan as he willed.

Either way, he would have the most powerful clan of the most prosperous village under his control.

And that was not something to be taken likely- especially when he was the Daimyo of a foreign country.

That thought brought a frown to his face. He would definitely have to keep his and the Wolves involvement in this completely secret. The last thing he needed right now was the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni thinking he was trying to take control of his hidden village.

The man would be understandably nervous were he to know another Daimyo- even an allied one- had any sort of control over a large group of warriors that were sworn to his country. It would look far too much like he was trying to use their alliance to take Hi no Kuni as his own- not a hard conclusion to come to when his ascension to the status of Daimyo was through the exact same means.

But that was a matter to be worked at later, he would not allow this opportunity to pass him by. And if, in the end, he had to abandon her in order to keep the rest of his plans? So be it, it wasn't like her sister wasn't already his and through her the clan itself.

No, this was just extra insurance, extra opportunity, and he was loathe to go without now that it had been presented to him.

"Very well." He finally spoke. "You are attending the academy, no?"

"I am." She nodded as much as she could when he held her chin in his hand.

"Tomorrow I will send someone to retrieve you afterwards so that we might speak more about this, you will know them by my sash. Follow them, but do not approach until they motion you to join them, understood?"

"Perfectly, Naruto-Sama. I will do as you command."

It was obvious that it hurt her to say those words but that brought a smirk to his lips. She may have harmed Hinata at one point, but he really didn't have anything against her. The fact that her actions solidified the former heiress's loyalty to him was already a point in her favor.

There was also something to be said about a prideful main branch member surrendering themselves completely to his will. The Wolf within him was pleased.

"Come, stand, it is time we returned to the presence of your father." He stood, nudging her up using the hand that yet cupped her chin. "We've left him enough time to gather his thoughts."

"Yes, Naruto-Sama."

She was submitting now, knowing she had to rely upon him to escape the fate of her clan, but how long would it be until she could surrender no longer? At what point would her entire being scream in anguish at her lack of pride and force her to act out against him?

When she was safe?

Sooner?

Smirking, he looked down to see her standing there, eyes to the ground, waiting for him to take the lead. Like a snake ready to strike, a wolf ready to pounce, she bid her time, She was cowed now out of necessity and fear, but it would not last forever.

If he was honest, he was looking forward to the moment she could take no more and lashed out at him.

In fact, he couldn't wait.

Perhaps things had just gotten a bit more interesting here in Konoha.


	42. A Proper Game Starts Slow

**So, after a bit of a mishap where I sent the story to the wrong person to be looked over, we finally have the next act of Sealkeeper.**

 **Late?**

 **Perhaps.**

 **But here none the less.**

 **Of course, I'm also aware that with the late updates we actually seem to have very nearly lost a week, which means I'll have to find some way to make up for that. Haven't decided how yet, perhaps an extra double length or a few extra thousand words on a couple chapters, but regardless of how it's done it WILL be done-**

 **Eventually.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

Things had not gone at all as he expected them to.

That was not a bad thing.

Quite to the contrary, he found himself rather enjoying the dinner with his guest. Not only was it enlightening- no wonder he had managed to draw allies strong enough to take down one of Konoha's clans from the shadows- but it was a pleasant change to have someone who he could look at as an equal.

Not of status, of course, he was the head of the Hyuuga and the boy just had powerful friends, but of skill. Truly there were too few players in this game. Well, not exactly, there were plenty of them- a surplus, in fact- the only thing was that very few of them were any good.

He had always thought that to be a damn shame, for he did enjoy the subtle messages and hidden moves that the game was made of, promises and threats alike hidden within compliments and pleasantries.

There really was no better pastime for those such as himself.

And now he actually had an opponent.

A worthy one, at that.

Tempted was he, already, to make moves against the young man just so that their game might begin in full.

That, unfortunately, was a rather foolish move and one most unbecoming of the Hyuuga head. No, he'd have to do things properly and let the game make itself in its own time. Most certainly it would be a better game then if he could refrain from rushing into it now.

But oh how sorely he was tempted to do it anyway. The field of battle where their words would dance and strike would be lessened, but so much sooner would they be able to play

And that was just one of the reasons he was secretly grateful for his daughters action and, if she had any idea what it was she had granted him, her insight. He wouldn't be too surprised if she had some inclination to what was going on, as even Hinata had remained in the kitchen until such a time that their guest returned with the heiress.

If the daughter that had never even reached the stage where he would begin to teach her in the ways of the game could read into the events around her well enough to act properly than there was no possible way that Hanabi hadn't.

That is, as long as she hadn't been completely smitten by the boy.

Hiashi grimaced slightly.

He had never had to deal with something like this and it had never crossed his mind as a possibility. He knew his daughters would one day marry, it was expected as the daughters of the head, but never had he really considered either of them having romantic interests.

Especially not with the one opponent he had been able to find within Konoha. Hiruzen and Danzou were here, obviously, but not only was it bad form to get between two opponents- especially when they had been playing their game for so damn long- but going against the Kage could be considered bad form and any association with Danzou was usually seen poorly by, well, everyone, really.

Every Shinobi, at least, and any civilian who wouldn't mind wouldn't think enough of the old war hawk for him to be seen as a suitable opponent of the Hyuuga head.

No, neither would do but now that he had found someone his youngest daughter- who really was still too young for that sort of thing- seemed to be rather taken with him.

Admittedly, he too had struggled to look away from the young man who was, undeniably, very attractive. Truly Fate had smiled upon him to give him an opponent who could both act and look the part he was to play.

Then again, the Hyuuga deserved no better.

And if Hanabi really was taken by him then he could accept that. Not only would it add more dimensions to their game but Hiashi didn't have anyone else who matched up to the boy at the moment. For now, at least, he was the best suitor she could have. That could change, of course, but if she wanted to have her crush now then so be it. Either she would get over it by the time he found someone better of her, he would prove to be the best choice in the end, or she would be married to someone else anyway.

That's how it was for the daughter of the Hyuuga, she would expect no less.

Which meant, of course, she accepted the risk of the situation- if that's what it had been- and if she proceeded it would be on her own head.

Well, that was if she was really trying to send such messages to him, he supposed.

He had spent the evening starting his first game in many years and his mind was working overtime to analyze everything that happened tonight.

That said, it was possible he was seeing things that weren't there, subtle messages and signals that only existed because he believed them to.

Hanabi and Hinata weren't the players, but they were on the board and that counted for something, right?

Right?

Maybe he needed to take his remaining time in peaceful solitude to calm down-

But just a little.

Couldn't be letting his guard down around the boy, now, could he?

* * *

While he knew for a fact his face was exactly the same way it had been for the duration of the dinner- almost serenely unchanging, only faintly interested, and with the lightest of polite smiles- but he was also well aware that his eyes must have been dancing with victory.

From the moment he had returned to the dining room, trailed after by Hanabi, Hiashi's countenance of a polite host had slipped the barest amount and a frown that transitioned between thoughtful and displeased would ghost over his face for a fraction of a second every so often.

His eyes, despite attempts to keep his attention firmly on his guest, would look between him and his youngest daughter as if it would explain the change that had taken place during the young man's brief recess in the garden.

Naruto wasn't worried about the older man assuming he and his daughter had been behaving improperly- they were opponents, after all, and they were still starting the game- but it was obvious he suspected something had happened between the two of them.

He just couldn't figure out what.

Amused- not that it showed beyond mischievously pleased eyes- Naruto had decided not to volunteer any information to the man. If he wanted to know he could ask or, better yet, play the game in a way that brought it to light.

Of course, he could not remain both suspicious and the gracious host for the entire night if he ever wanted to get the game truly started.

"I admit, Naruto-San, I find myself pleasantly surprised." Started Hiashi "I knew you were an exceptional young man already, you'd have to be to stand up for my daughter and make the…connections…you have, but you have greatly exceeded my expectations."

"Thank you for such kind words, Hiashi-Sama" He inclined his upper body forward slightly. "You are most gracious to gift them upon me."

Still, his eyes practically sung with victory and Hiashi didn't for one moment believe in the boy's false humility.

"It is no burden upon me to speak the truth, Naruto-San. You deserve my praise and more not just because of your actions with my daughter but also because of what you've managed to accomplish since then."

"Surely you know graduating the academy is no arduous task, Hiashi-Sama. You yourself went through it at the beginning of your own career, did you not?" His blank face slipped enough for a small smirk to tug at his lips- it was beginning in earnest now.

"Of course, of course." The frown was brief and quickly replaced by a ghost of a smile on the face of the Hyuuga head. "But we both know you've been up to quite a bit more, haven't you?"

"Have I?" He feigned confusion only the barest amounts. "I'm afraid I couldn't possibly know what you are speaking of. Just a simple boy starting his Shinobi career. Terribly dull, really, for a man in your position."

"Oh, don't go selling yourself short now, Naruto-San." The smile was now fully displayed. It was small, yes, but it was plainly visible- a rare thing indeed. "You declared yourself against an entire clan and managed to come out unscathed, sparred against a Kunoichi that had been trained by one of Konoha's finest for years, and have found yourself running missions on occasion with Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko. There are few people who can claim to be in her favor, you know, the fact that a Genin knows her personally alone is already incredible."

Hiashi wasn't particularly fond of the woman, but neither did he hold anything against her. She had a job she did and she did it damn well. She was eccentric- crazy- but most Shinobi and Kunoichi- regrettably- were. And while he spoke of knowing her, the most impressive thing was that he had _survived_ her. She was a violent woman with a rather bad temper so either the young man at his table was very good at reading others and acting accordingly or he was very, very skilled ad dodging and hiding.

Then again, maybe he was good at both.

"Perhaps I am merely fortunate." Suggested the young Daimyo.

"Perhaps…" conceded Hiashi. It was small, too small for his liking, but they were both starting to stretch in preparation. They had viewed the water earlier, now they truly tested it.

Soon, hopefully, they could dive in.

But not today, unfortunately, this would be as close to the true game they would come this night. And so it was, the rest of the dinner passing calmly. It wasn't long until he was thanking his hosts and going on his way.

Only two of the four were happy with the results.

* * *

It was actually a bit concerning, because for the first time in many, many years he truly didn't know what to think.

Considering he was a Nara, one might understand why such an event was so strange to the man. It went against his very nature to be unable to simply analyze something- anything really- and come to a conclusion about it. In this case, however, he was at a complete loss.

Moves were being made around Konoha- nay, the land of fire, at the very least- but to what end? Who were the players, what was the game, and who would be caught in the middle?

Tsume and Inoichi had been talking loud enough for him to overhear it all and he was smart enough to understand everything they had said well enough to know Tsume had chosen a side and Inoichi wanted her help to do the same.

Of course, he also knew that neither was a player in the game. Not truly, anyway.

That could be attributed to the fact that the game he spoke of, the real game, was the one that spanned the entire world. They played their own games, yes, but they couldn't really be considered players at this point-

Only pieces with more freedom than others.

But if that was the case, who was the player they were allying themselves with, or were they too not even the player but rather a higher ranking piece?

There wasn't enough information and he had not participated- as piece, player, or otherwise- in quite some time. It would be easy for him to join in and he could do very well.

But should he?

Was it worth it, whatever prize was currently held for this game being played so close to his home? It was a small game still, things were neither too calm nor to hectic for it to be too large at this point, but it would undoubtedly grow until the victor joined as a true player of the game- unless they already had.

And if it was a player who just so happened to be working in Konoha for whatever reason now did hew really feel up to the challenge it would be to start at the beginning as a mere clan head?

Shikaku didn't like this, not at all.

"Tch, troublesome."

* * *

If there was a state beyond complete boredom Kato Shizune was there.

Or, rather, had been there.

For a very, very long time.

Never before would she ever have dreamed of missing being dragged around fire country and babysitting one of Konoha's Sanin. But, if nothing else, at least she was doing something then.

That's not to say she didn't do anything here in Konoha over the past four years, but she hardly called working part time in the hospital exciting. Useful, yes, she had helped plenty, but she had done the same when on the road.

And those who didn't have regular access to highly trained medical personnel were also a damn more appreciative of what she did for them, especially when she usually couldn't bring herself to change them for her services.

The people here, both Shinobi and civilian, were just a bunch of entitled assholes.

But that really wasn't the problem, was it?

No, the problem was that she was beyond bored and had no ideas on how to change that.

She still lacked friends for the most part, filling up what time she wasn't looking after her master with hospital shifts, but even those few she had met didn't tend to do much. One might think that as a Shinobi village there was plenty to do, but it really just meant there were plenty of bars and that you could pick up two-packs of Kunai in any convenience store.

Shinobi, it would seem, were a rather boring bunch when not on missions and not much was provided to help change that.

No wonder so many of them were crazy, there was nothing else to do!

She had tried her hand at writing but wasn't too fond of it, reading but was too restless, and she had even tried to follow her master's footsteps and get completely wasted –

And she was still bored!

There was nothing, she had decided, to do in Konoha.

Or, if there was, it was hiding very well from her.

Not for the first time she wished she knew of a gambling den here in Konoha. At least that was something to do and she was a great deal better than her master. And even if that wasn't too entertaining, she could at least busy herself shopping with her winnings.

The thought of money led her to the boy she had seen all those years ago picking pockets. They ran into each other every now and again and were on pretty good terms if she said so herself, but they weren't really friends.

Maybe she could find him one of these days, that could help. He might know of any less than legal local gambling dens she could sneak away to for an hour or so and he might even know what people did around here for fun. She might be able to offer him some training if he wasn't too busy with whatever team he was placed on and if it came down to it she knew just how successful he was in his first profession- not that being a Shinobi was too different, it just had additional facets- and may even be able to convince him to give her a loan.

A shopping spree really did sound pretty good right now, after all.

* * *

Something was wrong. Very, very, very wrong.

Her father had started taking more responsibility from her shoulders as she started her career as a Genin but he had recently started backing off more and more. Beyond that, he seemed to spend as much time as he could around both she and her mother. Previously he had been very good about giving them attention but now he was almost smothering them.

This wasn't her father- something had happened.

Or something was about to happen.

It was almost as if he didn't expect to be around for much longer and was trying to make the most of his remaining time.

And that scared her.

Not just because she would lose her father or because her mother would lose her husband, but because there was only one group she could think of that would elicit such a response form the man.

The House of Wolves.

What had he done?

It didn't take too much work- not with the access and resources she had within the clan as acting head, even if Kushina outranked her- to discover the disappearance of three clan members. One returned.

By the time she went to confront him about the disappearance he was gone.

And so was a sizable chunk of their limited funds.

Kushina made sure the clan needs were met, but anything extra was hard to come by. Simple theft seemed obvious, but Yamanaka Ino wasn't going to believe that for a second.

Between the way her father was acting, the two missing Shinobi and the fact that the third had returned only to vanish again she knew something had happened or, better yet, that something had _failed_.

Something against the Wolves.

Internally she cursed.

She thought her father of all people would know better but it would seem recent events had gotten to him and begun taking their toll. She didn't know what he had decided was a good idea or how it had backfired enough that the only remnant of it vanished with enough money to set up a new life but she did know that in some way it was going to affect her clan.

Once again, the jaws of the Wolves were posed over their throats.

And she didn't even know why.

* * *

Unlike Ame, which was forever cursed with hot air from Hi no Kuni, Nami no Kuni was blessed by colder sea breezes that kept humidity down and made for an all-around more pleasant experience.

It also served to taunt her with all of Ame's flaws when that was her next destination, almost as if it was trying to convince her to stay in the land of the Wolves- something she'd be all too happy to do if it didn't mean sacrificing inside knowledge of an S-class organization that may at one point pose a threat to Naruto and the Wolves.

Still, if nothing else, it was a nice reprieve before she had to return to the land of rain.

Getting there had been easy enough as a Kunoichi, though she and Naruto had at one point discussed giving her the carriage to ensure it returned safely to Nami no Kuni. The idea was scrapped, both because she needed to get back to the land of rain and because his trip wasn't over yet, but Mikoto wasn't sure if she preferred it that way or not.

On one hand the journey would have taken forever and, from what Naruto had told her, was absolutely maddening in its boredom.

On the other she'd get to spend that much more time away from Ame.

Had she mentioned how little she liked Ame yet?

Her hatred for the tiny, historically war-torn country aside, Wave was much more pleasant and she had thus far had very little trouble in her journey here. Trice had she seen Wolves and thrice had they not even made a move to approach her or impede her travel. She had to wonder when it was word of her had been sent back to their territory, because her welcoming hadn't been nearly this warm- warm in the impassive, we hold nothing against you but you still aren't important enough for us to make any sort of effort toward you sense- when she approached Naruto's carriage week prior.

Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, she merely carried on. The town itself surprised her somewhat, as it would not be long until she needed to start calling it a city, but other than that nothing really stood out.

Well, other than the scaffolding that was rising prominently above the treetops in the distance. She hadn't heard anything about that, but then again she really didn't hear anything about Naruto's operations.

That could be attributed both to the fact she never really asked and that it was a bad idea to send such information to a spy. The point was to have intel coming from them to give you some sort of advantage, that was rather soundly negated if the flow went both ways.

Of course, as had been said, she really hadn't asked either. She was far more interested in Naruto and his well-being than whatever things he was having his Wolves do. She recognized the importance of the Wolves, naturally, but only because they were important to him.

That is, after all, why she had agreed to deliver this letter for him. She couldn't, however, help but think there was more to his request than he had let on. Was it really because she was there and wouldn't be accompanying him into Konoha that he had asked her, or did he need her to be in Nami no Kuni for some other reason?

The first thought to come to mind was that he wanted the Wolves to become accustomed to her and her relation to him, their leader. That could also be said as 'he wanted to introduce her to the Wolves'.

Then again, she knew how important these Wolves were to him- practically his children- so perhaps it was more along the lines of him wanting to introduce the Wolves to her.

Both accomplished the same, though the meaning behind them differed.

Still, that really wasn't the point. She had a letter to deliver on his request and so that's what she needed to do. She could puzzle out his reasons later or, better yet, simply ask him in her next letter.

With any luck, he may choose to give her an answer.

With that in mind, it wasn't all that hard to find the Wolves. Not only did they come and go freely from the forest but every civilian there was more than capable of pointing her in the right direction. The Wolves likely would too, but she didn't bother asking any of them.

It was In a rather open clearing that the mansion of the late Gato could be found and despite being fortified it struck her as odd that they had claimed this place to serve as their seat of power, even temporarily.

The entire thing just screamed 'target' to her.

Of course, there weren't all that many other options for them, were there? Even now they focused more on building up the civilian parts of the town and finding ways to make trade easier to perform for their country with more warehouses and docks. Perhaps they simply lacked the necessary funds at the moment and had decided to focus on the aspects that would draw in more resources to allow them to do what they needed to-

Namely building a hideout that could properly keep them safe.

Or at least make an obvious residence more suited for her Naruto. This place was nice, admittedly, even from the outside, but Naruto was a Daimyo now and that meant he needed something a bit more spectacular.

In her opinion, at least.

And we all know her opinion mattered the most when it came to this.

* * *

She was let into the manner without issue and quickly shown to the temporary office of one Commander Sai by a woman- Tsunami- who reminded her very much of herself. It was actually a bit disconcerting, though she had to wonder if her ass looked anywhere as good as the civilian mother's.

It should, she was a Kunoichi, after all, her body was in the best possible shape-

But was it?

Concerns about the appearance of her rear aside, the woman was quiet and polite but, even better, wasted no time in getting her to where she needed to be without question.

Occasionally she'd mention something about the surroundings- details on a certain piece of the late Gato's artwork or where a pair of Wolves were caught doing something stupid (which happened more than she would have thought, apparently)- but the double doors of one of the- relatively- smaller rooms soon met them and with a nock Tsunami proceeded to open the door, not even awaiting a response.

Mikoto wasn't certain if that was a mistake, proper procedure here, something between the woman and whoever this Commander was, due to Tsunami's own relation to Naruto, or even because of her.

What she was certain of was that Tsunami wasn't bothered in the slightest about doing it and walking off, leaving her to enter he Commanders office alone.

Once again, she found herself rather surprised, though she honestly shouldn't have been. The Commander, Sai, was within two years of Naruto's own age- still far younger than anyone would expect one who held such a position to be.

"Ah, Mother Crow," She didn't really like the name she had chosen on the spot when going to visit Naruto – mainly because it reminded her that she was indeed the mother of the crow when that hadn't been her intention with it. The mother part? Yes. Mother of Itachi? No. – still, if it got her in to complete the task begged of her by Naruto she'd deal with it- for now. "Some of the patrols reported your imminent arrival. What can I do for you?"

"Naruto-Kun asked me to deliver a letter when we parted ways." She proceeded to hand over said letter before resting her weight on one hip and crossing her arms. She'd wait to see if it had anything to do with her before going but if it didn't she needed to get to Ame before she got to comfortable here and it became impossible to tear herself away.

Raising a single brow, Sai was quick to open it, scanning over the words with a snort before tossing it onto his desk. At Mikoto's inquiring look he shared.

"He wants me to limit the guard I send after him." He explained. "He says that I'm not to send a single operative above two full guards but he'd prefer it be further limited to a single guard."

"And how many would you assign him?"

"If I had my way or if the Wolves had their way?" Asked Sai.

"What's the difference?"

"If I had my way he'd have ten full guards, a High-Captain for every five and a full guard for both High-Captains."

She didn't think that sounded too bad actually. At least he would be safe.

"If the Wolves had there was, however," he continued. "We wouldn't be able to call it a guard, he'd simply be surrounded by his entire force at all times."

Admittedly, she liked that even more, but she was able to realize how impractical it was. Still, having her new son guarded by an entire army? It would have been a comforting thought.

"Sounds reasonable." She commented. Sai didn't initially say anything to that but his lips twitched into a small smile and she could see the amusement in his eyes, which said enough. Still, his voice eventually picked up after a moment of thought.

"Let there never be any doubt, Mother Crow," he said. "That you are one of us."

It certainly didn't sound at all like an insult so with a grateful nod she accepted it as a compliment. Of what sort she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps she should have learned more about the forces of her son.

Silence stretched out for a few uncomfortable moments before she spoke up inquiring about any additional content that may have been featured within the letter.

"Anything else in it?"

He raised a brow.

"Maybe, why?"

"Anything that has to do with me? I want to make sure he didn't have anything in there for me before I head back to Ame."

Sai nodded in understanding.

"Ah, yes, of course, I understand. Depending on how much you want to get back to Ame this could be either good or bad news but he's made no mention of you within the letter. This may have been because he didn't initially plan on having you bring it or because you have other things to attend to but I wouldn't be able to say either way."

"Then I suppose my business here is done. Is there somewhere I could obtain provisions before I leave?"

"I don't know exactly what your relation to Tsukiyomi-Sama is but he seems to accept you." That really didn't answer her question at all- "Our storerooms and armory are open to you."

Ah, much better.

Though, she did find it odd that he would refer to her son by that name when it was obvious she already knew his true identity. A safety measure, perhaps, but from what? They were all Wolves- and she guessed Tsunami- so why would that be a problem?

"Thank you," Still, he was giving her unrestricted access to their own supplies, so at least she could show some gratitude. Naruto would likely kick the boy's ass if he didn't, but it was still appreciated that he had done so without her threatening him with her son. "I'll seek out Tsunami again to guide me there."

He gave a nod of confirmation at her intentions and turned back to the papers on his desk. Before he could even resume writing footsteps sounded down the hall as a young woman in her late teens entered the room without so much as a knock.

"You really should keep the doors closed, Sai, the head of security's been having fits that we'd willingly leave ourselves with one less barrier for any assailants or spies to get through." The girl hadn't looked up from whatever folders she was holding and instead walked blindly across the room to the Commander's desk as if she had done so a million times. "Anyway, did you take a look at those folders I sent you? I really need your opinion and, better yet, your approval on- oh?"

Having finally looked up she spotted the guest that had been just about to leave.

"Ah, I'm sorry, who's this?"

It would appear that this was the reason Sai refrained from mentioning Naruto's name.

And an Inuzuka?

She really needed to sit down and talk with her newest son about all the things he'd been up to lately.

* * *

 **I look forward to seeing you all next week.**


	43. Bite of a Raven's Tongue

**Yeah, yeah, it's late. I'm well aware. I didn't have it finished it until...Tuesday, I think...and after that I needed to go over it with ncpfan and our schedules are less than compatible as of late.**

 **Even so, it's being posted now and I'm working on this week's update which- should it follow the plan I have set- will hopefully be up by Monday.**

 **I'm also aware that I still need to make up the chapter lost in the disrupted update schedule recently. I WILL make it up to you all- just not now.**

 **Definitely not looking forward to the double length chapter, I'll likely be working on that one from the minute I get home every day to right before I retire to bed for the evening. That will be fun. Luckily, that's not this week so I don't have to worry about it quite yet.**

 **This chapter was supposed to include Inoichi's fate or at lease Naruto hearing from Tsume about his atempt at an alliance, but it ended up far from what I intended- which, really, is nothing new.**

 **Never the less, I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Thanks goes to ncp for his help.**

 **Let's begin, yeah?**

* * *

"This is mother crow, she was just leaving." Explained Sai, one hand lightly gesturing towards the guest he had just finished speaking to.

"Mother crow?" Hana's head tilted- most appropriately- much like a canine's might, showing a mixture of curiosity and slight confusion.

"Mother crow." He nodded in confirmation. "She's a friend of Tsukiyomi-Sama's, I suppose."

"You suppose?" She asked suspiciously. How does one 'suppose' something, most of all when it related to Tsukiyomi-Sama, he whom they both- to some degree- served?

"Well, I admit I don't know exactly what her relation is with him, but I do know she met with him on his way back from visiting the Daimyo and she came here today bearing a letter from him." He turned to look at what had been a soon to depart quest with obvious inquiry in his eyes, prompting her to speak.

She decided there was really no point not to.

"He's my son." Mikoto declared. That caught them off guard, Sai more than Hana.

"Your son?" Hana voiced the question while Sai ran through everything he knew about Naruto and everything he knew about the woman claiming to be his mother. The only thing he really did know about her was that behind the mask wasn't Kushina- not exactly much to go on.

"As far as I'm concerned." She clarified, shifting her weight to one hip and crossing her arms over a chest her cloak didn't do much to hide.

Ah, so not actually his mother, that made things noticeably easier to understand.

"So are you really his mother then?" Questioned Hana. Inuzuka really were a blunt sort and though Hana was capable of being more subtle she didn't often employ those skills- it just wasn't in her nature.

Still, that knowledge didn't make the statement sound any less rude and Sai flinched ever so slightly hearing it. He was pretty straightforward himself but tact was just one of the things Mai was trying to beat into him.

She'd be focusing more on budgeting ,as he was worse there, but Naruto had taken control of that matter.

Honestly, he probably preferred it that way. At least Naruto was more likely to simply go to Mai for one of her massages if he became too stressed with the monumental task of dealing with Sai's financial failings. Mai would just keep getting more angry at him.

"I'm the closest thing in his life to one." Despite how rude the question came across, she still answered.

Or, the closest she knew of, really. Yugao, his Sensei, nearly took that spot from her and Mai herself tended to take care of Naruto like a mother might do- she tended to be a bit too intimate about it, yes, but not so much that it could be completely dismissed.

That said, if he stayed longer in Wave the position could easily be filled by Tsunami. Kurenai, too, could easily take up such a role, had she not been so set on being seen as an elder sister.

In fact, Mikoto was only the closest thing he had to a mother because she was the only one who had declared herself such and he saw no reason in arguing against it when it made her happy and didn't inconvenience him in the slightest.

Not that Mikoto knew any of that.

No, as far as she was concerned no one else came close. And that was fine- because that's what she needed, a solid role in which she felt her presence was necessary.

In this case, however, it also helped quite a bit with any lingering distrust Sai might have for the still widely unknown person and it immediately put her in a rather good light with the Inuzuka, which was good because Mikoto was rather curious as to the girl's presence.

"Oh, I see. It's good that he has you, then." Hana couldn't actually mean this fully, not actually knowing anything about the leader of the Wolves but what she had managed to observe for the short time she had been in his presence.

Still, if she was the closest thing he had to a mother it meant he didn't have anyone else in that role before her, right? In that case, perhaps it was good that she had managed to fill it for him.

Then again, who was she to claim to know anything about that? His personal life was hidden from her- if he had one- and there didn't seem to be any hints forthwith coming about his past.

She was curious, yes, but even she knew that she would receive no answer should she inquire.

It also seemed a bit rude- both to ask and to admit she knew nothing about him.

There really was no winning, as far as she could tell.

Sai didn't make a comment about it, choosing instead to offer a simple nod of agreement as he turned back to his work. He'd let the two of them talk, though he would be- admittedly- paying just a bit of attention to whatever they said.

There was no telling what he might learn.

Whether or not that was a good thing, however, he wasn't quite sure about. He'd just have to take that chance-

Take that chance and hope it wasn't too bad.

With his luck they'd stat going over Naruto's best qualities here in his office and he'd have no choice but to work through it.

Now that would be absolutely horrible.

"Someone needs to look out for him." Declared Mikoto. She was quick to amend that sentence before anyone could take offence. Naruto was rather fond of his Wolves, after all. "And while you have all been doing well keeping him safe and provided for he needs someone a bit more personal."

Sai absentmindedly nodded, his eyes not leaving his desk. He was of much the same opinion, though he personally thought Naruto needed a more personal relation of a different kind- one that would most likely be filled by Mai. In the end, however, it didn't matter that much and, hey, the position still wasn't filled. There was no harm in Naruto having a surrogate mother and a close relationship with Mai.

In fact, that was probably even better for all of them, as Naruto would have more people to offer him support and to keep him from working himself to death. He didn't do much now, as he and Mai had taken over most of it, but Sai wasn't ignorant enough to think Naruto didn't spend most of his time trying to find ways to improve things for the Wolves.

He simply cared too much about them to not do so, and the fact that he really had nothing to distract himself from his self-appointed task of WolfFather certainly only added to the problem. The young man had mentioned it once before and Sai agreed- Naruto needed a hobby.

Not that Sai could suggest one, all he did was work, train, and sleep.

Kind of like Naruto, actually.

He used to paint, of course, but there really wasn't much time for that anymore. Maybe Naruto taking on a bit more work wouldn't be such a bad thing-

No, who was he kidding? The red-haired youth would run the country and the organization by himself if he could, giving him more work wouldn't do any good.

More administrative staff, then, could very well be in order.

Sai would have to look into it.

But that was something for another time and so he returned his attention to his work, only slightly paying attention to whatever might be spoken next.

"Of course," She continued. "There are some in his life that I don't even know about, you being a prime example." She gestured lightly to Hana to indicate who it was she spoke of. "So, While I do fill a rather important role I can't help but wonder if I might not be the only one with a close relation with him."

Raised brows clearly indicated an implied inquiry.

"Ah, I actually don't know him all that well, we only met briefly before he left for Hi no Kuni."

I see," Mikoto commented lightly, pondering. " So you aren't close then? I'd think that with you being an Inuzuka you must be pretty close to be trusted with any information pertaining to his actions."

Hana was about to speak when she caught herself, eyeing Mikoto critically.

"How much do you know about his projects, anyway? I've not heard of you until now and yet to claim to have such an important role in Tsukiyomi-Sama's life…" She trailed off, eyes narrowed at the cloaked form of the woman across from her.

"Almost nothing." Admitted Mikoto. These people were trusted by her surrogate son, it was best to be as open and honest as she could lest she end up driving a wedge between them and her son. The young man needed all the help he could get to ensure his safety, happiness, and wellbeing. She wasn't going to risk any of that just because the girl was suspicious of her.

'As she should be.' The last female Uchiha thought wryly. She was a spy, after all, and one that was just now being introduced to the group she was providing information for. It was understandable, really-

Even if she didn't like it.

Who were any of them to question her?

It was only because they did so for Naruto's sake that she allowed it.

She had to constantly remind herself that he would be upset with her should any wedge be driven between them by her hand. Him being upset was just about the last thing she wanted- right after losing him completely.

There was nothing that could possibly be worse than that.

Even so, it took monumental effort on her part to remain civil with those he had chosen to surround himself with. As far as she was concerned they would never be worthy of even the barest scraps of his attention. Not that she was about to say anything- either to them or to him. If he wanted them around that was completely up to him- even if she didn't feel they were good enough. Then again, who, besides herself, could ever be?

Worthy or not, she had no choice but to play nice for Naruto.

Still, she wondered how long she'd actually manage before she started to let them know exactly what she thought of them.

Breaking from those thoughts her voice flowed clearly despite her mask.

"My position does not provide a suitable environment for a backwards exchange of information." She continued. "Dare I saw should information travel both ways it would risk rendering my own role rather pointless."

It didn't take long for Hana to understand what it was the woman was alluding to.

"You're a spy." It was both question and accusing declaration.

"Maybe." Mikoto gave a lazy shrug but it was rather pointless. Both Sai and Hana now knew of what she did for Naruto even if she wasn't going to come out and declare such in any situation. It didn't matter all that much, but it was hard to think yourself a spy when you go about releasing such information freely.

"That would certainly explain the ravens." Sai mumbled quietly. It made sense, sort of, though he couldn't fathom why she'd go by 'Mother Crow' if she used a different bird. They were similar, perhaps, but still different species.

Hana, with her exceptional hearing, was able to hear him clearly enough, the reason he always had to be very careful about what he said lest he give away something she was not yet permitted to know.

"Ravens?"

"I train them." Offered Mikoto. "They make good messengers."

"Then why 'Mother Crow'?" She asked the question a thankful Sai and been unwilling to.

"Because I made it up on the spot when I went to see Tsukiyomi and it flowed better than 'Mother Raven." A shrug ended the sentence before she continued. "It's fitting, in its own way, but I'd rather not talk about it. Honestly I'm not too fond of the name but it helped Tsukiyomi identify me in Hi no Kuni."

Oh, I see." It made sense- sort of, but she still found it kind of odd. Still, wasn't really the point. The important detail was that Sai had personally born witness to communication between this woman and Tsukiyomi. Claiming to be his mother was one thing but being able to back that up with the fact you were acting as a spy for him helped.

Though that did bring up the question-

"Why is his surrogate mother acting as a spy for him?" She questioned with a slight tilt of her head. "He seems to take great care in ensuring those close to him are properly protected."

"I can't divulge that information; not to you." Mikoto continued before Hana could object. "It's linked too closely to my identity. Suffice to say I had the opportunity to join an organization that may have posed a threat to Tsukiyomi in the future and joined to keep him informed."

"I guess I can understand that." Hana didn't like it, but she could accept it.

"How long have you been doing this for him?" Sai spoke up from his desk, only briefly looking up from his work to meet her eyes as he asked his question.

"Since before he had you Wolves." That was all she was saying there- rather than risk giving more clues about her identity- but it was enough. With a nod Sai accepted her answer, it would explain why he had never heard of her before as Naruto still had a terrible habit of keeping things to himself instead of letting others help him.

Mai was still working on fixing that.

Unfortunately she wasn't making nearly as much progress as any of them would like.

"Now, if you're done questioning me, I'm still rather curious as to the presence of an Inuzuka. I know your clan members are loyal which would make them an attractive choice for Tsukiyomi to work with," She really didn't like using that name for him. "But you look far too much like Tsume for her not to be your mother. I can't see you being here without the clan itself being involved."

Hana blinked twice, caught off guard by how accurate that was. The woman was not a spy for no reason, evidently.

Even Sai, still trying to focus on his work enough to actually do something more than listen in on their conversation rose a brow in a silent sign of being impressed. It wasn't too large a leap of logic to be difficult for people to figure out but the fact that few outside the Wolves knew- and most of those were the Inuzuka themselves- remained.

Now there was one more.

Of course, it was never going to stay secret for long, or even for as long as any of them would have liked. Global operations noticed by Danzou previously had spoken of as much and the likelihood of someone discovering more than they were ready to be released to the world only increased now that they were out in the open.

If they were lucky, however, being in the open would give anyone looking plenty to see and, perhaps, distract them from some of the more sensitive aspects.

You know, like the alliance with a Konoha clan.

That was a pretty big one they would much rather save until after the Hyuuga had been sorted out.

One clan at a time was plenty, thank you very much.

Or, that was Sai's opinion, at least. If Naruto thought he could take on that much- which wouldn't actually surprise him all that much- then he might be alright taking it on, but Sai would much rather focus on one task at a time.

Then again, even if Naruto didn't think they could do more at the time he would never let anyone- perhaps save those closest to him- know. It would be bad for morale, after all. No, he'd much rather drown in work than risk putting them in a worse spot. Instead he would stand tall and proud, a symbol of hope for his children to rally around.

And if that was the case then, well, they might just be able to manage both clans at once.

It was amazing what the Wolves would do for Naruto and his confidence would only increase how hard they would fight for him.

Admittedly, he, also a Wolf, was no exception.

Though he certainly didn't mind.

His attention was pulled from his thoughts- which had equally pulled his attention from his work, the pile of which was not growing any smaller- when Hana began her own explanation. He already knew this, naturally, so there was no point in listening in, but it was distracting nonetheless and with a sigh he surrendered to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to get any work done with the two of them in his office.

Unfortunately, asking them to leave now would just seem rude and Naruto apparently held the cloaked woman in high regard.

Lovely.

"Mother is aware of my current role, we've decided to ally ourselves with the Wolves when they reached out to us."

"You say that almost as if you had a choice." The voice didn't change but the words themselves were almost barbed- not quite in contempt or pity but something more akin to scornful amusement.

Evidently she would not manage to remain civil for long. Besides the thought that this might upset Naruto she didn't much care or, rather, she was exceedingly pleased to be able to let the girl know exactly how well she thought of her any any others who belived themselves worthy of her son's attention. And if Naruto did hear of this? Well, she tried, didn't she?

Sai found his eyes moving from his desk where he had forgone any attempts at his work to the two woman standing near it. She wasn't' wrong, he realized, and doubtless Hana recognized the same, but to hear it was new. It had been, since the arrangement was first offered, an unspoken truth.

No, that wasn't quite right. Mai had- she claimed- mentioned that the Wolves would find someone else, but at the same time the deal offered had been one that couldn't be passed up.

Not by any Shinobi worth their headband, at least.

So while there had been the light threat of missed opportunity, never had it been spun to sound as if the Inuzuka themselves were not the ones to decide.

Sai would be the first to admit he wasn't one for the games played and plots laid within the political world- to any degree, really. He much preferred the cut and dry hierarchy of a military group. Well, make that Para-military, there were politics involved with regular militaries.

Actually, now that he thought about it, a lot of para-military groups were deep in politics to keep themselves operating, too. Damn, what were they then? The House of Wolves to which they belonged was undoubtedly political, but the organization itself was really just set up where people were chosen by either Naruto or himself and then did their assigned tasks simply for the sake of obeying Naruto.

And while that did seem a bit odd to some, it was a very easy setup, one where you simply did as you were expected and were thus part of the group that served Naruto- who In turn was doing what he could to serve them.

Huh, maybe things weren't as simple as they first seemed, but at least they weren't directly dealing with other groups or inter-organization politics that would distract from the rather hard to understand purpose of their group.

It was like being part of a machine, he mused, where they were each a single part working as a whole to accomplish Naruto's will- when that was, for whatever reason, to help themselves, he guessed.

They didn't worry about other clocks, that was Naruto's business, and no part could take the place of another so they really didn't try. It was complex and yet simple, an operation that had many parts but that was straight forward in the fact that in continued onward with its task.

And that, he thought, was much preferable to any of the politics Naruto and Mai tended to mess with.

It also meant he really didn't make attempts to know how regular people worked. He dealt with Wolves, a group that- for the most part- thought like him.

They had all gone through the same training, after all.

Because of that it was easy for the Wolves to operate smoothly together, but when it came to outsiders they could be a bit lost. So it was understandable that now Sai was, to a very small degree, regretting his inexperience in both fields, for even a bit of insight to this situation would be helpful beyond measure.

As he had said previously, that unspoken truth had been known but never put into such words and now that it had he wondered what reaction it might pull forth from the heiress of the Inuzuka.

Would the idea that they had been forced into this arrangement anger them somehow? Would it breed resentment to the point that they started to separate or, worse, stand against them?

They would never last, but it would still be a loss for the Wolves- one Sai was loathe to accept. They made great allies and fit in well to their own pack, it would be an absolute shame to lose them and Naruto would be rather upset that he'd need to start over in obtaining worthy allies.

Considering the progress they'd already made with the canine clan it would be a major setback- especially when they had to change everything to avoid any damage the Inuzuka may be able to inflict with the knowledge they had on their operations.

It wasn't all that much, but it was enough to make things difficult.

They would like to avoid that, if at all possible, thank you.

Hana stared at the woman across from her, blinking.

Once.

Twice.

The words were processed and eyes narrowed, the barest of growls escaping her throat.

Idly, Sai wondered who he was supposed to support should the two of them come to blows. One claimed to be both the mother figure of his boss and a spy in another organization but the other happened to have been granted control over the civilian matters of an entire country by that same man. Truly, they were both favored, but was there one he favored more?

Perhaps it would be best to simply separate the two of them, though he did realize he'd be needing to call for backup if he wanted any chance of keeping them from tearing each other's throats out.

Most curiously, he really couldn't understand what was going on. They would go from friendly enough to this as if it was natural- maybe it was?

It could be a human thing, he supposed, or maybe just a female thing, but either way he was at a loss.

If nothing else, it could certainly be said that Naruto surrounded himself with an interesting bunch.

"Of course we had a choice!" Protested Hana. "We didn't even need this! We decided to go along with Tsukiyomi-Sama's offer because we wanted to, not because we were forced into it!"

"And still I say there was no choice. There will soon enough be two sides in this world- those with him and those who are not. You may not have known it at the moment, but that threat has existed over your head since he came into power. Fortunately you seem to have chosen correctly."

Now that didn't sound right at all- Naruto wasn't planning world domination as far as he was aware, that was just asking to be a target and would cost the lives of far too many Wolves to achieve. How well, he had to wonder, did this woman actually know Naruto?

Then again, how well did he?

Was it possible that she actually knew him better than he did?

The very thought made him uneasy for some reason, but he couldn't quite identify why.

"We joined Tsukiyomi-Sama because we recognized the benefits, not because of some threat that has never hung over us and never will."

"Because you chose correctly."

"Because if we had been threatened we wouldn't have joined. We are with him completely of our own free will, it was our choice to accept his offer simply because we recognized its worth. Don't you dare try to claim we joined him for the wrong reasons, I won't hear it."

"That so?" Mother Crow almost seemed amused now, much to Sai's confusion.

"Damn right that's so, the more you try to say differently the more you're saying he may have chosen poorly. Neither I nor the other Inuzuka will stand for that and while I can't speak for the Wolves I'm certain they would support us against your words."

Mikoto froze, her entire body noticeably tensing, and what little amusement had been seeping into her voice at the goading of the Inuzuka heiress vanished without a trace.

"Watch yourself." She all but hissed. "I'm questioning you, not Tsukiyomi-Sama."

"And my presence was by his decision, you question his judgement by suggesting anything against the truth of the matter- the Inuzuka joined with his pack willingly and we will stand by that decision regardless of what you claim."

"You don't even know his name."

"I don't need to." Hana declared. "We will call him by whatever name he wishes of us and if he should one day choose to share with me his name so be it. Until then he is Tsukiyomi-Sama, Father of the Wolves and leader of this great pack."

For truly this combination of Inuzuka and Wolf was great, a pack they had never dreamed of being possible. The Inuzuka had always been small and mobile, even back in the days of the Clan Wars, but with the boosting of the Wolves the combined clan was easily triple the size.

And they were growing.

That was to say nothing of how their territory crossed borders or that the leader of this pack was allowed to sit amongst the Imperial Fire Court. The Inuzuka, one had to admit, would never have accomplished something like that on their own.

Mikoto thought a moment before giving a shallow nod.

"Very well." She admitted. "You had a choice and chose correctly, just remember that once made this can't be undone. I expect you to give your all for him."

"I don't need you to tell me what I- what the Inuzuka pack- was already intending to do. My mother might rule the clan but even she has accepted him as the current Alpha of the combined pack. We will serve him as if he were of Inuzuka blood."

"I don't want you to serve him as if he were of your clan." Declared Mikoto, turning to leave. "I want you to serve him as if he was your entire world- your very reason for living. He should be the cause of every breath you draw." She paused as she neared the door, peering her mask over her shoulder to face the young Inuzuka woman. "I want you to serve him as if he was your god."

"He is Tsukiyomi no Mikoto." Hana proclaimed. "Lord of Wolves and god of the moon. No one would dare claim otherwise."

"Good."

Before Mikoto could leave Hana managed to fire off one more sentence that had her freezing in her tracks.

"Safe travels, Baa-chan."

" _What?!_ " it was half hiss half outraged cry. Hana just shrugged.

"You are the mother of Tsukiyomi, are you not? If he is our father, you are our grandmother. Try not to frown so much, you can't afford any more wrinkles."

Clenching her fists Mikoto- just barely- managed to bite her tongue and storm off. A rather remarkable show of control, really. As she left to hunt down Tsunami to be shown the supply rooms of the Wolves to leave as soon as possible, Sai and Hana shared a look.

There was something…off…about that woman. Maybe it was because of her role as a spy and the stress that could bring, maybe it was just her. Either way, she didn't exactly seem normal- not with the way she seemed to go between pleasantly curious and hostile like that.

Then again, they weren't exactly the most normal themselves, were they? A young man commanding armies for an even younger lord and the heiress of a Konoha clan acting as the public ruling figure for the sole settlement within what had almost always been one of the wealthiest countries of the world.

And, with just a peak out one of the office windows one could- if only just- make out the scaffolding that was part of the outpost being constructed by another hidden village.

The Village hidden in Sound-

The village of Orochi-fucking-maru.

No, they were certainly not the most normal of individuals and that lead to them being a rather abnormal group, but that woman seemed to be more off than the rest of them.

Of course, we already mentioned the fact that Orochimaru was working with their Godson in fortifying a country- was it that out of place for the woman who believed herself to be the boy's mother to have more issues than the rest of them?

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to fit.

In the end he merely shrugged and returned to his work.

Naruto attracted the oddest people, and that was good enough an explanation for him.

Hana, on the other hand, was having a harder time getting her head around it, but that was understandable-

After all, Inuzuka Hana was far more normal than Sai.

Not that such a statement actually said much, though. One might be forced to admit he was a rather average Wolf but the Wolves themselves- twisted through training and attempts at conditioning- were only normal enough to pass as being rather strange to the public. Not a suspicious strange, but at the very least eccentric.

That hadn't exactly helped them blend in when they were living amongst the populace of Konoha as sleeper agents.

It was a miracle they managed to avoid being discovered, honestly.

So, to say Sai was an average Wolf meant he was quite odd, and therefore saying Hana was more normal than him really didn't say anything at all.

Personally, she liked to think of herself as rather normal but then again, she had joined a growing organization that had just taken over a country and set their leader up as a Daimyo welcomed into the Imperial Fire Court and she hadn't even spent a day contemplating that decision.

Perhaps she was less normal that she'd like to think.

Oh well, at least things with the Wolves involved were interesting.

That had to be worth something, no?

* * *

 **I'll see you all for the next act.**


	44. Blood of My Enemy

**Every one wants action, they want something to happen. Well, here you go.**

 **Kukukukukuku**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **There was a lot more I was going to say but I'm supposed to be asleep already so I'm just going to start the chapter and worry about the stuff I should have written down to say to you all later.**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

When the need to inform Mai of her meeting with Inoichi had her going straight to the girl she had developed a rather friendly relationship with Tsume had not- for even the barest of seconds- considered that the young woman might not be alone.

Well, that wasn't completely true- a guard of Wolves was to be expected- but she hadn't thought the busy young woman might be sitting at a table sharing a meal with someone other than herself.

More than that, she hadn't expected that person to be Tsukiyomi himself- the top of the food chain.

She had most certainly not considered that she might further be invited to actually join them.

Understandably, she was caught more than a little off-guard.

Initially, after informing one of the Wolves who had been near the Inuzuka clan compound that she needed to speak with Mai immediately- as anyone knowing of their alliance was definitely something that had to be shared with the Voice of the Moon- and being led to a small apartment building near the market district, she had expected that the home she had stepped into under the watchful gaze of Wolves belonged to the young woman she had been spending so much time with lately.

She had been quite wrong.

A Wolf having entered before her, the mysterious Tsukiyomi had been given enough warning to cover his face from her sharp eyes and even as she entered the kitchen guards took visible positions around the room.

And, for the first time ever, she bore witness to the man to whose hands she had all but placed the future of her clan into.

She didn't know quite what to make of him, honestly.

He wasn't all that tall, standing not much higher than her own son- though her son was, admittedly, slightly taller than most of his peers, only the Aburame heir being taller and last Uchiha matching almost to the millimeter- and his form was lithe in a way that showed very little strength.

At the same time he carried himself- even sitting- like a man who wielded great power.

Perhaps that was what threw her off the most.

Just looking at him she could see he wasn't very strong- physically, that is, and yet she knew he carried political power of great weight.

It was power, just not the kind she was used to dealing with.

Not directly at least.

Still, whether he personally had great strength or not he nevertheless commanded such- it was undeniable.

So, with great care to remain polite in the presence- and the home, which was a bit difficult to wrap her head around. The man lived in a rather inexpensive apartment in the mart district? Really?- of Wave's Daimyo she took an offered seat at his table and gratefully accepted the food placed before her by one of the Wolves.

The Daimyo seemed to look over her in curiosity for a few minutes, his head tilted just so, and she had to wonder if the young man- for by his stature she couldn't believe him to be any more than twenty years of age- had ever seen her before despite having chosen them to work with.

Or perhaps he didn't know what to make of her practically unannounced presence.

That thought reminded her that this was, in fact, their first meeting and that even though he had chosen her clan her actions today would define his first impression of her.

Hopefully in a positive light.

"So, Tsume, not that I'm not happy to see you, but what brings you here tonight?" Mai's voice, as always, was pleasantly polite, but it lacked the usual warmth Tsume had become accustomed to. It was to be expected, seeing as now was a time for business more than a social call, but it still felt wrong to the woman who had been spending most of her free time with her.

Tsume took a quick glance at the leader of the Wolves who remained silent and regally relaxed in his seat. Voice of the Moon indeed, it would seem. Idly she noted that only Mai touched her food, taking small bites between sips of her drink. She herself- despite not wanting to seem rude- was rather hesitant of simply sitting down and sharing a meal that she had interrupted, mainly due to the fact that the interruption was rude already and Tsukiyomi was unable to continue with his meal with her present as it would require him to reveal his face.

What a brilliant first impression.

"I had information that I needed to share with you, Mai."

"Oh?" One brow rose in inquiry and even Tsukiyomi seemed to lean in closer to the table the barest amount- showing that he too was interested in what the matriarch of his chosen clan had to say.

"It's about Inoichi-" Before she could finish Mai had shot her lord a look as he lost his relaxed posture and sat rigidly in his seat. Tsume could feel his hidden eyes burn into her as his voice-soft yet commanding- practically hissed out his words.

"You have my undivided attention, Inuzuka Tsume." From his reaction, she didn't doubt that for a second. "Continue."

She really didn't need permission, she thought, but she heeded his word anyway.

"He approached me recently, said he knew I was allied with the Wolves. He wanted in."

Tsukiyomi was silent for a moment, moving not a muscle, as Mai gazed at him- worry in his eyes.

Then, in a single instant, he seemed to relax completely. Tsume could feel the smile hidden behind his scarf and she was certain that had they not been obscured by the shadow of his hood his eyes would have been laughing.

At what, however, she did not know, and it made her uneasy.

What about any of this was amusing?

"He knew did he?" She wasn't completely convinced it was actually a question but she still answered.

"He did. I'm not sure how he figured it out but he approached me directly about it. He couldn't offer anything but empty promises with his position in the Yamanaka clan but I figured the two of you would want to know anyway."

"Heh, you've got yourself good instinct then." She could feel the grin in his voice- and it wasn't a pleasant one. "This is exactly what I've been looking for."

Tsume knew that the Wolves and the Yamanaka had been at odds before, but hadn't they solved whatever issues they had long ago?

If that really was the case why did Tsukiyomi seem so pleased to learn of Inoichi's actions? What didn't she know? Moments later she learned exactly what it was that caused such a reaction.

"Mai," There was a dangerous undertone to his voice, like a soft growl in the night. "I do believe Tsume here has found us the source of those spies."

She understood then, at least a little, of the situation.

And from what she knew it wasn't going to be good for the Yamanaka head.

A shiver passed down her spine.

She was infinitely glad she hadn't made any solid arrangements with the man.

* * *

It was wary glances she shot his way, unsure exactly how he would react now that the one behind the death of his children was more or less confirmed. It wasn't a perfect certainty, but it was close enough for Naruto to act on- that much she knew without a doubt.

What she did doubt was the course of action he would take.

Her dark eyes followed him as he reclined in his chair, more relaxed than she'd seen him since she told him what happened. She was happy about that- not so much when thinking about what he might be about to do.

Still, for the remainder of the dinner- which was really just she and Tsume finishing their plates in the presence of Naruto- her lord seemed to be in high spirits. Well, high in the sense that his more negative emotions now had something to focus on and the thoughts of bringing pain and misery to them he found appealing.

It wasn't until Tsume left for her own home that everything changed.

* * *

In the dark of night they bayed, eager for blood. Figures of shadow sliding through the world like the breath of forgotten gods.

The village hidden in the leaves did not wake on the passing of the pack nor their herald, a smaller figure that launched itself over rooftops and through alleyways like an acrobat of a midnight carnival. He was their king, their god and tonight-

Tonight he would see them fed.

Wolves flew behind him, leaping great distances to remain at the heels of their master.

He hardly noticed, all his attention focused upon the task at hands.

More than a message, beyond justice, this was revenge.

And he could hardly wait.

While his pack nearly salivated at the thought of spilling blood in his name, he too felt his mouth water at the idea of taking reparations for his lost children from the flesh of his enemy.

The hunt was on.

* * *

They had not been subtle.

With the crashing sound of a shattered window Tsukiyomi himself led the charge, quickly followed by his Wolves. Darting around him they converged upon their startled target and had him pinned to the wooden floors of his bedroom before the rest of their comrades had finished slipping into the window .

Two Wolves immediately took posts at the door as yet another slipped through it- just in time to force Inoichi's wife away from the bedroom door that closed behind him. With the door secure they had a moment- but nothing longer. Even now he could hear the man's wife screaming and it would not be long until Yamanaka clan members came to investigate.

If they were smart they would recognize the Wolves for what they were- the top of the food chain- and stand down. Tsukiyomi did not have great faith in that happening.

In fact, he had no faith in that happening.

He knew for a fact that these people- the same who thought it was a good idea to stand against him before- would all to quickly try the same again.

Foolish, perhaps, but entirely too human.

He understood that well enough.

Purple eyes turning from the guarded door and down to their captive a wicked grin grossed his lips. He had a feeling of course, a suspicion, but now it was all confirmed as much as it possibly could be.

It was a pity, really, that the one now held down spread-eagle on the floor had to be Yamanaka Inoichi. He had thought highly of the man- still did- and it was a horrible waste to do what he was about to.

He knew why the man did what he did, understood that things had happened beyond his control, and approved of the steps taken in such a situation. What, then, determined he had done something wrong was the simple fact that it had been against him and had led to the loss of his children.

That was unacceptable, even if the mentality behind the actions taken were admirable.

Inoichi would have to pay regardless.

With nary a thought chains darker than the hearts of men slithered across the floor, roughly rubbing the hard wood as they rattled toward the target they bound tightly. Inoichi securely within his grip, the Wolves backed off without command.

"Inoichi, Inoichi, Inoichi-" Tsukiyomi shook his head in disappointment as he stepped towards the bound man. "I applaud your efforts, really I do. In fact, you nearly managed to get yourself out of the mess you found yourself in. But the fact remains that you should have known better than to try hiding this from me."

He gave the man an odd look, mostly because his face was still hidden behind his usual scarf and hood which meant no one knew what sort of look he was actually giving those around him. Still, his head tilted just so to indicate some sort of change. What that was remained at best guesswork but curiosity didn't seem too far off.

"I gave you that warning, you know. I had been unaware that it was really you behind it all, but it was still a chance for you to come forth or, at the very least, run far, far away."

The man had stopped struggling against the chains, aware that it was futile. Still, he did not gaze up in fear at his captors but rather in a quiet resolve. He fully expected to die this day for his mistakes, but there was still one last thing he needed to do before then.

It was only with tremendous effort that he managed to ignore the panicked shouting of his wife outside the door.

"I should have, yes, but that would only have confirmed the fact that the Yamanaka were behind it. I couldn't do that to the clan."

Naruto nodded twice, recognizing the sentiment, but quickly returned to shaking his head.

"It could have confirmed that it was you behind it, Inoichi. Even concerned with the safety of the clan, your daughter would be more focused on avoiding our ire and any members of the clan acting on their own you would have turned over to me to protect your family."

He stopped moving to gaze silently at his prey for just a moment.

"I know it was you and you alone. Previously your clan wished action to be taken and your heiress complied, but in this case it was the conscious decision of one man. It wasn't a good one, you see."

"No." Agreed Inoichi. "It wasn't. But what's done is done."

"Quite right, Inoichi, quite right. Are you ready to face the penalty for your actions?"

Inoichi's eyes darted briefly to the door behind which he could still hear the sounds of his hysterical wife. With a sigh he turned back to Tsukiyomi- no- turned back to Naruto and asked for what had sealed his fate.

"How did you discover it was me?"

"You approached Tsume too early." That said everything he needed to know but even as he nodded in understanding Naruto continued. "Had you waited longer it wouldn't have been so out of place to have discovered her connection now that the Wolves are more open but to discover it so soon? To discover it just as a spy in the company of a Yamanaka escapes our maws?"

He 'tsked' lightly in disappointment.

"You were so close, Inoichi, so close, and now you force my hand."

"Very well." His eyes closed, waiting for his end. From the words of Naruto it was only he to be punished for his actions and that was good enough for him. So long as his family was spared he would accept the consequences of his mistakes.

He did not see the nod Naruto sent to his Wolves nor did he see the tool removed from a bagg one of them had brought.

But with the resounding thunk of metal biting wood he felt it.

Even as he clenched his jaw to bite back the scream that wanted to tear itself from his throat the Wolves moved away from his severed arms, wasting none of the precious little time they had. Inoichi's eyes opened just in time to watch the two hand axes crash down simultaneously on his kneecaps.

It was not a pretty sever, the flesh around the joint mangled as the metal clashed against his bone. Unlike his arms, which had been cut off at the shoulder, they left his upper legs, though the reason behind that he could not fathom.

Nor was he even going to attempt to try.

He was only vaguely aware of the four Wolves- two of which had just been wielding those axes- that went to work field dressing his wounds, cauterizing them just enough to prevent him from bleeding to death.

What he was hyper-aware about, however, was the approach of Tsukiyomi, who silently accepted a blade from a Wolf without taking his eyes away from the limbless man before him. Through the pain he noted with curiosity the oddness of the particular blade. Beyond the wicked curve not seen often in the hands of Shinobi, there was something off about it.

It took a moment for him to realize the blade was glowing red-hot, probably by a low-powered Katon Jutsu.

He also had enough time to realize how strange it was that they were addressing his wounds when their lord was readying for the final strike. It seemed- to his pain addled mind- like quite the waste of effort. Unless, of course, the pain was the entire point.

It would be a few moments still until he realized that knife wasn't meant to end his life but it also wasn't something he would ever be able to tell others about.

For that knife had been for his tongue.

With quick movements the muscle had been removed from his mouth and Naruto looked at his prize curiously before turning his attention back to the newly crippled Shinobi.

"I told you, Inoichi, that you would be devoured." He began to walk away then, even as his Wolves set about wrapping the removed limbs and placing them in the duffel bag that had held the axes used to remove them. "But you don't need to be dead for us to do so."

"I have taken your legs to remind you the folly of trying to run, your arms so that you might not act, and lastly your tongue so you cannot speak." He continued towards the window he had entered in as he spoke, paying no attention to the man you might not even be hearing his words. "There are ways for you to get around this, I am sure, but I do hope you have learned today how foolish it would be to attempt so."

He turned now, to address the man one last time this night.

"Live, Inoichi, as a constant reminder to your clan of the cost of foolishness. Do not allow them to cross me again."

And with that, followed by his Wolves, he disappeared into the night.

There was a feast to prepare.

* * *

Stumbling into the situation once had been unexpected enough, but then she had actually been invited to join them.

Tsukiyomi, she noticed instantly, was in a very good mood. There was still something about him that seemed a bit displeased, no, a bit disappointed, but for the most part he projected a sense of victory that she couldn't help but think was somehow related to the information she had shared with him the day previous.

Perhaps that's why she had been invited to join them?

She also couldn't help but notice the massive increase of Wolves around them. Unless she was mistaken this was at least a full guard which meant almost every Wolf currently in Konoha.

Dinner was served and consumed in near silence, the Wolves standing around the room at relaxed attention, and it wasn't until after everything had been consumed that Tsukiyomi stood and motioned for one of the Wolves to bring a last drink for the group.

Unlike the meal proper, this time everyone in the room found themselves with a glass into which wine- and a very fine vintage, at that, if the bottle was anything to base it off of- was liberally poured.

Things only became more odd as the words of Tsukiyomi's toast rung in her ears.

Even so, she had brought the glass to her lips and drunk deeply before they had a chance to truly register in her mind.

"To consuming the blood of our enemies- those who would cut down my children and slay the siblings of the Wolves."

Much to her own unease, she couldn't shake the feeling that he had meant that quite literally.

Looking down at her half-filled glass, a shudder ran down her spine.

He hadn't, had he?

It would be a week until the fate of Yamanaka Inoichi escaped to the public of Konoha and the second that Tsume heard it she knew with absolute certainty-

He had.

* * *

She was surprised, at first, that every single one of them seemed so energetic but it didn't take long to figure out why.

The spy that had killed their kin and injured two of their members had been discovered and, while the spy himself hadn't been found, the one he answered to had been.

More than that, the Wolves had gotten a hold of him.

His limbs, it was said, had been severed from his body and his tongue- the very same one that had given the spies their orders- was cut out of his mouth by Tsukiyomi himself. They had left the man alive, a reminder of what price crossing them carried, but he was undoubtedly defeated- another foe of the Wolves vanquished.

Hopefully for the last time.

Then again, she didn't think the Wolves would mind crushing them again however many times it took to get the message across that they weren't to be messed with.

Eventually it would sink in, not just for their current enemies but for the entire world.

Still, now wasn't a time to think of that, now was a time to celebrate the fact that the one who had stolen from the pack their fellow Wolves had been punished for his foolishness.

She soon learned that there was more cause for celebration than even that for Tsukiyomi, in a barbaric gesture that appealed to the animalistic nature of his pack, had sent to them blood and flesh of the aggressor, to be consumed this night.

He had told the man the fate that would await him before his identity had been discovered.

'We will devour you.'

And now, from what she understood, that was exactly what the Wolves were about to do.

Almost the entirety of the Wolves stationed here in Nami no Kuni- which made up most of the Wolves in the pack itself- were gathered together to share this meal. She found herself, the only non-Wolf present, seated between Sai and Yūto, the survivor of the event that had led to this. High-Captain Keigo, the one who had been with the guard that caught the spies and received a face full of explosive note for the effort was seated beside him, still covered in bandages. Yakushi Kabuto sat on Sai's other side and beside him sat one of his leaders from the Sound group.

Seated before them were the Wolves, excitement nearly palpable in the air.

Stew had been chosen as the manner in which they would devour their foe, blood mixed into a broth made with boiled marrow and traces of fat. Naturally, despite it not being the flesh of their enemy, the stew was filled primarily of meet and only a scattering of potatoes and a scarce few carrots allowed it to be called anything more than meat soup.

Of course, that was for the celebrating masses. Those at the head table, like Hana herself were offered a smaller cup of soup and a plate of grilled meat. It wasn't hard to come to the proper conclusion as to what that meat was.

Sai and his fellow Wolves, unconcerned with the generally accepted morals of society, didn't waste any time in starting on it, no doubt considering it a great honor to be allowed so by their lord when the others had to settle solely with the stew the kitchens had prepared.

Kabuto and his fellow Sound Shinobi took part in the celebration by consuming the stew but politely declined the plates offered them.

And the left Hana at a cross roads.

Did she turn down the human flesh like Sound had at no consequence?

Or, did she partake of it like the Wolves?

It was immoral, she knew, but what place did human morals have in the pack she had become a part of?

And besides, no one had to know, did they?

Little did she know that her first bite was watched by every single person there and it was at the moment she went for her second that she cemented her position amongst them.

Inuzuka Hana was a Wolf, if not in name than most certainly in heart.

* * *

She ignored the inquisitive gaze of the dark room's only other occupant, instead focusing on the small vial that had been in her latest letter. Most interesting was the fact that she was being sent a letter that wasn't a reply to one she had sent- he had sent it for the express purpose of communicating with her.

Not that it said much, mind you, it was very little more than a paragraph, but it said plenty.

"Tobi- Mikoto- what were you sent?" A second voice from the same source continued the questioning. "And who sent it? Who are you in contact with?" The second voice was deeper and was noticeably suspicious. It was strange then, that they came from the same being.

Could they really be both simply curious and darkly distrusting at the same time?

"It's from a friend." She answered absently, holding up the small glass vial to the light to better see its contents. A light red glow splashed over her revealed face, nearly glowing against pale skin, as she pondered what it was she currently held.

"A friend?" That had been the darker voice, one that was rough and gravely.

"You don't have any friends." Accused the other. One could almost here the frown on their face.

"I do-" She claimed. "One. And he sent me this letter."

"And what's it say?" The lighter voice asked the question that the other undoubtedly wanted to know.

"Not much." One could hear the small smile in her voice even if it was hard to make out in the darkness. She was being intentionally vague just to annoy them and it was working- her enjoyment of that fact was easy enough to recognize. "Just an explanation of the gift."

"And the gift?" It was evident that the darker half was getting impatient with her and her uninformative explanations.

The smile hadn't left her voice but it took on a wicked edge.

"The blood of an enemy." Without breaking her gaze from the vial the letter burst into flame. It was an old trick from her clan, one few had known before the massacre purely because of its simplicity. None had bothered learning something that looked so easy when there were more impressive Jutsu to be mastered and, in many cases, stolen.

Still, she was able to put it to use now to rid herself the letter that had her watcher so suspicious. It wouldn't have hurt to let him read it, in fact, it probably would have been best for her, but it had been written by her beloved son just for her and she didn't want to share it with anybody.

Removing the stopper with her teeth she quickly downed the contents just as she had been asked to, swallowing easily.

Had the one in her room been anyone else they may have found the action even the slightest bit strange. Considering this particular individual had a habit of eating people, however, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The fact that it recognized the symbolism as devouring one's enemy only made it seem more right.

Giving a shrug, the being with two voices left the woman's room. He didn't know who her friend was or what enemy had been vanquished but so long as it didn't affect the plans the master had entrusted to it before his demise it really didn't care what she got up to.

In fact, so long as the others believed her to be who he claimed she was she could go ahead and do just about anything she wanted to. Pein believed her to be the powerful apprentice and Voice of Madara and the others saw her somewhere between childish and psychotic.

Something like this wasn't likely to change either of those views, and that suited him just fine.

If she wanted to go about drinking the blood of her enemies so be it.

He just hoped that next time she might offer him some.

* * *

Orochimaru spent far less time than others when she found a vial of blood in her possession. The note was simple enough, telling her nothing more than that what she held was the blood of an enemy that had been suitably punished for his actions against the Wolves.

They had been punished and her godson had been kind enough to send her part of them.

With a single, quick movement she had uncorked the vial and taken the blood into her mouth where she took a moment to savor the taste of victory- not of her own but that of her darling godson's.

He was such a good boy, taking care of himself, his forces, his enemies, and making sure to send her presents.

And speaking of presents she still owed him quite a few. She would really need to devote some more time to finding something suitable for the young man who was reminding her so much of herself when she was that age.

It was absolutely beautiful.

Swallowing the blood and grinning as she felt it slide down to settle in her stomach, she turned back to the envelope she had withdrawn the vial from. Chucking it away she was only idly aware of it shattering against one of the stone walls of her hideout, more focused on neatly folding up the letter to be stored with all the others.

Even if it was nothing but a quick description of her gift it was still written for her by Naruto and that made it precious. She would make sure to treat it as such.

But first, perhaps, a quick retirement to her chambers.

That boy had the most wonderful effect on her.

* * *

 **Thank you for joining me for act XLIV, I look forward to seeing you again for next week's showing. Hopefully that will be the 10k word chapter that it's supposed to be but at the very least I can promise a regular length chapter.**

 **I suppose I should probably start keeping track of all the words I owe you, because this is adding up pretty quickly.**


	45. Will the Wind Blow?

**Just a standard chapter, I'm afraid. Things came up and I wasn't able to type up a double. On the plus side, I'm nearly done with the next chapter so it will, with any luck, be posted soon.**

 **I know I had more to say but I can't remember what and I need to be getting to bed soon.**

 **Thanks, as usual, goes to ncpfan who takes time out of his busy schedule to look over my chapters before I post them.**

 **Let's start, shall we?**

* * *

She hadn't bothered yet to draw the curtains this morning, leaving her room bathed in darkness. The light probably would have done her good- would have helped her clear her head instead of surrounding to her tremulous thoughts- but she couldn't find the drive to rise from her seat on her bed and let it in.

She didn't know- more like hadn't been told- much but it was enough to get a good idea as to what had happened.

After all, few outsiders knew the Wolves as she did and there was no way to keep the news that they had paid a visit to the compound last night from circling the clan.

What was hard to come to terms with was that the apparent target had been the only one she would have believed to know those Wolves as well as herself-

Yamanaka Inoichi had been admitted to the emergency care ward of the Konoha hospital.

The two could not be dismissed as being unrelated, there was just no way it was a coincidence.

There was no such thing, she found, as coincidence when the Wolves were involved.

Of course, that still left her not knowing why the Wolves had gone after her father.

As far as she knew the quarrel between them had become no more and that could only mean there was something she didn't know.

Not surprising really, basic logic, but that same train of logic also dictated that something had to happen and the Wolves had shown no further interest in her clan.

The explanation, then, was that her father had gone and done something she didn't know of to anger them once more.

And that certainly explained his recent behavior.

Scowling, she punched one of her pillows. Just when things were getting back on track he ended up throwing all their work away. Idly, some small part of her wondered if this was how he felt when she got Naruto to declare a feud between himself and the clan when her father had been trying to keep her clanmates from going after the boy.

She felt she understood that just a bit better now- but any possible reasons for him to provoke the Wolves still escaped her.

With a sigh she let herself fall onto the bed, her feet dangling over the hard wooden floors.

She needed answers, desperately, if she wanted to have any hope of clearing everything up and placating the Wolves should they still be agitated.

Unfortunately, it would seem she was going to have no choice but to wait until her father was back to get them.

That was, of course, assuming he would ever be coming home.

* * *

"Good news!" It was the first thing she said as she let herself into the apartment with an exited slamming of the front door.

Peering at the grinning Tokubetsu Jounin as a Wolf closed the door in the corner of his eye Naruto raised a single brow, inquiring exactly what kind of news merited such actions from her.

With the sheepish grin of a lightly chastised child who didn't actually think they had done anything wrong other than get caught she rubbed the back of her head.

That wasn't exactly an answer, though, and so he prodded again- verbally this time.

"And what is that good news, Anko?"

A triumphant half jump had her extending one arm high into the air and made the scroll within easily visible.

"I got us a mission, and it's a good one!" Her grin went from sheepish to excited as she peered at his face expectantly waiting a positive response like an attention-starved pet. His brow, which had returned to its resting position, merely raised once again in silent instruction to elaborate.

Whether she understood that or had decided to continue on her own he didn't know but he didn't bother questioning it either. The important fact, after all, is that it was done.

"You know I keep trying to get the bandit extermination missions but until now others have always beat me to it-" Not surprising, really, it was the most popular mission type for Shinobi of any rank. It didn't get much more straightforward than 'go there and kill everything'. "-Not this time, though! I camped out in the ceiling of the Hokage tower and so the second the missions were being handed out I dropped down and grabbed it."

She seemed immensely pleased with herself which brought an amused curve to his lips.

He knew she could be serious but she so often acted like a child that it was hard to think of her as anything else at times.

Times like now, when she pouted at his lack of verbal response to her good news.

"Okay then." He spoke, watching her face light up again. "Have fun."

And just like that the pout was back, bigger than ever. Oh, she was just so much fun to play around with.

"Hey, don't be so mean, Naruto-Kun." It was almost a whine but the soft, distressed voice was very nearly adorable.

The Kunoichi version of adorable, at least.

"Hm? Whatever do you mean?"

With a huff she crossed her arms over her prominently displayed chest- he really should try to convince her to wear something else but he just couldn't bring himself to do so- and gave him a look somewhere between innocent pleading and coercive glaring.

Once again, he could almost call it adorable- if just in the manner only Anko could be.

"You know what I mean, you're supposed to come with me."

"Am I?"

"Yes!" She stomped her foot, very much like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "Come kill things with me!"

"Fine, fine, I'll go on the mission with you." He watched her do a celebratory dance before continuing. "But this isn't just some attempt to forget your tent and sleep next to me, is it?"

She stopped and immediately went from child to woman. Or, better yet, from child to mature Kunoichi.

"Oh, most definitely." She shot him a salacious smile as she licked her lips. "But that's the same for every mission. The killing just makes it special. Who knows? Maybe I'll need your help washing away all the blood when we're done." She shot him a wink before turning and practically skipping out of the apartment, once again slamming the door as she crossed the threshold.

Perhaps, she simply went from child to Anko.

That or Anko to Anko.

Yes, that fit quite nicely, didn't it?

Because Anko was always Anko, there was just no changing that.

Another smile tugged at his lips and he let it stretch over them freely.

This was going to be fun.

The smile turned to a frown as he turned in the direction of the kitchen. His foodstuffs for missions had been kept in there but now pieces of Inoichi were too. He was going to have to get more before the mission.

And probably a new freezer while he was at it.

* * *

In dangerous circles it rolled, edging ever near the end where- if left unchecked- it would plummet to the wooden floor and spill its scarlet contents in a tinkle of shattering glass. Carefully she picked it up, cold against her pale fingers that trembled lightly.

Placing it on her bed greatly reduced the chances of it breaking which was good, for now.

It was good, until she figured out what she needed to do with it.

For why had she, Hyuuga Hinata, been sent the blood of Yamanaka Inoichi?

The Wolves had seemed happy enough that she received it, for reasons she didn't know, but she had no idea what she wanted to do with it or, more importantly, what she was expected to do with it.

She would not have received it without proper reason, she was sure, now it was just a matter of figuring it out.

Hopefully before something happened to it.

Her first thought, naturally, had been to go to Naruto with her question. Most certainly there would be none who might be more aware as to the deliverance of the vial than he, no?

Of course, Naruto was also a very busy person, and she really didn't want to be a bother over a simple vial of blood.

But was it simple? Was there meaning behind it, some symbolism she didn't understand that might lead her to insulting either him or his Wolves and being left alone again?

It was too terrible a thought, one that made her more determined to react to this most unusual…gift…she supposed.

She really didn't know what else it could be considered.

Perhaps, if not Naruto, she could find his assistant- Mai, if she remembered correctly. Even if she didn't know what it was for she would be able to ask Naruto when he was free. That way, at least, Hinata could eventually get the information she needed.

Of course, she had no idea how to find the girl, either, so that really didn't help her at all.

A letter was always a possibility, it could be delivered now and answered when he had time, but she didn't know when that would be. Would it really be okay to potentially delay whatever she was supposed to be doing?

With no other option at her immediate disposal she sat at her desk and began to write, focusing on everything but the largest question that plagued her mind-

If she had been given his blood by the Wolves, what had become of Inoichi?

* * *

The last sound he would here would be the clinking of chains as in a burst of movement they completely encircled him, jerking quickly to snap the neck and destroy the spine.

Even if he hadn't died instantly he had been rendered absolutely harmless.

From his nearby position perched in a short tree and surrounded by bushes that came up high enough to cover most of his crouching position Naruto watched dispassionately as his chains- with a single command from him- dragged the body away and into the nearby shrubbery at the bottom of the hill.

These fools must have though setting up their base in the middle of a valley in the northwestern part of the country would in some way fortify them against assailants. He almost pitied anyone who thought it actually gave them an advantage when not just one but both of the hills that formed the valley were covered in dense foliage.

Foliage he was taking ample advantage of.

With a finger to his ear his short ranged mic switched on in a crackle of static.

"Southeastern sentries clear." He reported. "You're free to start when ready Lust."

"Understood Wrath, I'm starting the distraction now."

The explosions were loud enough but it was impossible to miss the bright flashes of light they produced in the early dusk. Of course, that was the whole point.

It wouldn't do a lot of damage beyond the risk of a fire starting but even that wouldn't be too hard for the bandits to put out with their numbers.

Not that it would work in their favor, obviously, for if they were all preoccupied saving their camp from a fire they would never see the approach of death. A large fire, unfortunately, would hinder them as much as it did the bandits, though the thought of just setting it all alight and waiting for it to die out was definitely tempting.

The fact that they'd be up all night standing guard over the shouldering remains of the wooden fort waiting until there was enough light to search by and the fire had died down enough to allow them to sift through it had been what kept them from going that route.

They wanted to sleep, goddamnit, and if that meant they had to kill everyone by hand so be it.

It also had the bonus of keeping any ill-gotten goods the bandits had acquired from taking damage. Not that either of them had any intention of returning them, it just meant they pay for this mission could be substantially more than it had been listed as- unofficially, of course.

No one else had to know now, did they?

Two fingers raised in the air, clearly separated to indicate the number, and then came together to be flicked forward no less than three times. The response was immediate as two of the three Wolves behind him began moving towards the fort.

The third and final Wolf- the only female of the group- moved closer to her lord, almost as if she intended to act as a physical shield for the next part of the operation. As far as Wrath could tell, that was actually pretty likely. Still, he had nothing against that action and let it be. She was to remain as his guard- for truly they could not bring themselves to leave him without one for any reason- and if that's how she went about her duties then so be it.

Two chains emerged from his body as the other two passed, wrapping securely over their arms. His vantage point proved perfect for the sentries but he was blind to many behind the wooden encampment.

His Wolves would serve as his eyes.

Silence stretched through the night as he waited in the darkness, sharp eyes keeping track of the barely noticeable movement of his Wolves. It was only because he knew they were there that he was able to spot them winding down the hill through bushes and trees to reach the clearing- one not nearly big enough in his opinion.

It was possible the bandits here had been of the mind to try making their newly built fort blend in with the surroundings as much as possible. Either they hadn't yet finished- which was likely- or they had failed horribly- which was equally as likely- either way he had to shake his head at the setup they had chosen.

They stood out like a sore thumb and it was only the height- unnecessary in his opinion, but he tended to fortify his own buildings by havi g the Wolves hide within the earth or, more preferably, into the side of a mountain like a cave- that stopped him from being able to eliminate them without ever stepping foot into their newest base.

It would stop an archer too, he mused, and if it was intentional he applauded them. Of course, he had a feeling it was just luck in which case he could only shake his head in amusement and smirk at the fact that it was about to run out.

Still, it would have been a wonderful trap if set alight- there was no way their targets would have managed to escape.

Pity that option had to be discarded.

He was drawn from his thoughts as he felt chakra pulse in one of the chains and he replied by pumping in his own and extending it until he felt- both through the miniscule chakra in his target and an actual physical feeling of his chains making impact- it strike true.

One more potential threat they no longer needed to worry about.

With half a thought the chakra was pulled from the chain, retracting until a second pulse of foreign chakra signaled that it was at the proper length to be directed by his Wolf. Not long after the other chain received its own pulse and he extended that one just as he had the first.

Again and again the process continued, eliminating the bandits one at a time as they cleared those few sentries that had continued to man their post despite Lust's distraction.

It was almost admirable.

Foolish, yes, but it wasn't like they weren't all going to die regardless of what they did in response to the attack.

It took almost ten minutes for his wolves to make their way to where the rest of the bandits had gathered and another three for them to manipulate the chains to be in proper striking positions. Pulses of chakra told him where he needed to hold the chains, where he needed to make more, and, finally, when it was alright for him to begin.

They didn't stand a chance.

In a great wave of abyssal chains the majority of their numbers were torn to shreds or, at the very least, pinned to the soft ground to slowly bleed out. Those that had managed to escape soon found that fact rectified by multitudes of snakes and the twirling Kunai of a dancing Kunoichi.

A crackle of static was followed by a whisper from a Wolf to inform him that the base was clear but even then he could still hear screams. Evidently Lust was still playing with her food.

Trusting his Wolves and their skill completely he gave a single nod to his sentry and the two of them began making their way down the hill at a far more increased pace than the Wolves had earlier.

With the threat cleared there wasn't any need to be especially stealthy about their movements.

Navigating the fort, likewise, took little time, both because it had already been cleared and because he needed only to follow his chains. The scene that greeted him was, honestly, pretty much what he expected.

Lust, absolutely covered in blood from her own follow-up attack, happily worked on causing as much pain as she could to one of the bandits that had found themselves pinned to the soft- rapidly reddening- earth by ebon chains.

The unlucky fool, it would seem, had only been pinned by his leg, and that left him as a perfect target to be chosen as her plaything tonight.

In this case Wrath could say, without a doubt, that he truly pitied the unfortunate man.

He himself had absolutely no desire to be submitted to her less than tender mercies.

At least, in a situation like this, anyway.

Having heard his approach she looked up from her work, a bright grin on her face. Whether that was fro, being able to kill and torture bandits, seeing him, or a mixture of the two he really didn't know.

What he did know was that she had soon pressed herself tightly against him and was hugging him for all she was worth.

Idly, he noted the fact that he would, despite having been far removed from the actual battle, be leaving it covered in blood. He really should have expected that considering who it was he had gone on the mission with.

"See, I told you this would be fun!" Still not letting him go she grinned down at him, relaxing her grasp just enough to let her do so.

"Yes, of course, lots of fun." He agreed, rather neutral about the whole thing. It was a job and while he appreciated the straightforwardness of it he didn't get much enjoyment from killing strangers. If he knew them- particularly for having wronged him or his children- well, that would be a different story.

"Aw, you don't sound too happy, Naruto-Kun." He could both hear and see her pout and had to admit it was a bit strange when she was covered in blood.

"This is more of your thing, Anko, and now you've gone and covered me in blood."

"Nope, not 'Anko'," She removed one arm from him to wag her finger in his face. "I'm Lust, remember?"

"You just called me by name, this can't be about keeping to the codenames." Why he let her choose them he had no idea.

"It's 'Lust' if you want me to invite you to join me." A smirk had taken its place upon her lips, her eyes playful. With a sigh he decided to bite.

"Invite me to what?"

"Nope, you said it wrong. Try 'Invite me to what, Lust-Chan?'." A dry stare was the immediate response but he eventually decided- not without another sigh- to humor her.

"Invite me to what, Lust-Chan?"

Her smirk became a saucy grin.

"Why, to join me in washing the blood of, of course."

It only took a moment for him to understand and suddenly it didn't seem like such an inconvenience.

Not with incentive like that, at least.

* * *

Something had changed, it was rather hard to miss. Before the Wolves had shown proper respect due to her station- she was, after all, chosen by their lord- but now they seemed to treat her as if she was one of them.

A superior Wolf, perhaps, but still a Wolf, and that was a marked difference that was very had to overlook.

Such acceptance had been, quite honestly, rather unexpected, but that didn't necessarily make it a bad thing. To the contrary, she rather liked the way those she worked with seemed more relaxed in her presence, reminding her more of her own pack in their mannerisms and cementing the feeling of 'home' she now felt here in Nami no Kuni.

At this rate she didn't suspect she'd ever want to leave.

And maybe she didn't.

* * *

It was a truly horrible thing that had happened to Ino's father, Naruko thought, made more so by the identity of the perpetrators of the cruel actions against him.

The Wolves, the group affiliated with her brother, had struck against the Yamanaka once more.

This time much more viciously than any before.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine and threatened to relieve her of her last meal. Arms severed at the shoulder, legs managed and removed at the knee with all the finesse of a sledgehammer, and, worst of all in her opinion, his tongue cut straight from his mouth.

Ino had shared, of course, her suspicions that her father may have made the first move- keeping with the trend that in conflicts between the Yamanaka and the Wolves the Wolves only ever seemed to react- but even then, what could he have done to warrant such an extreme reaction?

This wasn't like dragging their name through the mud, that could be recovered.

No, this was permanent, as permanent as death.

A death, if Ino's theories were to be believed, he may have been spared for the simple sake of drawing out his suffering by condemning him to live out the rest of his life in such a mangled state.

It was cruel, it was ruthless, and it was exactly the kind of thing she could see the Wolves doing to ensure their point got across.

It was not, however, something she could imagine her beloved brother taking part in.

She was coming to think, though, that perhaps she didn't know him as much as she'd like to think, at least, not anymore. At one point she was sure she knew everything about him but after four years of separation he had changed- she had, perhaps, changed too, and those two facts combined made it impossible for her to truly claim knowing him any longer.

But that was just something she would have to fix.

It might not be easy, not with their mother's attempts to get him back in the clan and the fact that they never had opportunities to interact, but it was doable.

The change, like the drop in the Yamanaka's renown, was only temporary- it could be fixed. But were she to give up then she would never be able to forgive herself, even if she eventually tried again.

And that-

That was permanent.

* * *

His eyes moved from the stack- no, mountain,- of papers and back to his father. Once, twice, _thrice_ more is gaze made the sweeping journey and still he had trouble processing what he had been told.

"You want me to what?" The disbelief was palpable, filling the office completely and filling his father's heart with a relieved joy he hadn't felt in many years.

"Exactly what I said, my boy." His eyes, no doubt, were sparkling in mirth even as an amused grin tugged at his lips around his trusty wooden pipe. "In order to train you properly for the position of Hokage candidate we need to familiarize you with the duties of a Hokage."

"And that means I'm supposed to be doing your paperwork?" This had to be some sort of joke, right?

"Don't think of it as mine," Chided Hiruzen. "Think of it as the work of your future self. You don't mind lending yourself a hand now, do you?"

Sarutobi Asuma couldn't believe it, and by that he could believe it he just didn't _want_ to. His father couldn't possibly be thinking of that as some sort of valid argument in any situation.

Well, perhaps when explaining something to his nephew, Konohamaru, but even then the kid might be able to tell something was wrong. But him? One of the twelve guardians and a high A-ranked Shinobi with a sizable bounty on his head? There was no way he could be expected to accept that.

He look he gave his father said as much.

"Now, now, Asuma, don't give me that look. This is the best way to prepare you to be Hokage."

"But I don't even want to be Hokage!"

Hiruzen just grinned.

"Of course you do, my boy, of course you do, and this here is the first step. Now, get to it." With that he turned from both the massive pile of procrastinated paperwork and his son and exited his office leaving both -and his worries- behind.

There was freedom in that action that Asuma couldn't understand. Not yet, at least, but he would in time.

For now though, all the younger Sarutobi understood was that his father was enjoying this 'Hokage Candidate' thing far too much for his liking.

Turning back to the tower of papers- had it grown?- he decided to do the only thing he could-

He stole the preferred line of his favorite student.

"Troublesome."

* * *

"Something's come up; the deal's off."

A brow on the otherwise stoic- albeit almost completely covered- rose in silent inquiry. Of course, silent as it was, he needed to repeat himself in a manner that properly conveyed the thought.

"Off? Wasn't this your plan? What could possibly have stopped you when you were determined enough to gather an army for this?"

"Other plans- different opportunities. Konoha can wait, its lasted this long it can last a bit more."

"Konoha, perhaps, but the sand will not be able to carry on much longer like this. We need Konoha out of the way if we are to survive even the next five years. I don't have the luxury of waiting for a time more convenient to you."

"There are other ways to secure your future, Kazekage-Dono, the invasion was simply the most straight-forward."

"You speak of them, but I know them not. What s it I can do to provide for my people at this point? We have nothing of value to trade, no strength to lend, and a Daimyo who would happily see us all waste away to save himself a few hundred thousand Yen over the year when it's all provided by us in the first place."

"Ah, but you have an in with me, you see." The grin couldn't' be seen as they, like the Kazekage, his their face behind a veil. "I've become fond of you and your people, probably because you were prepared to go to war with me and my forces against a major power, but I think that's enough reason to help you out, no?"

Eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak any objection to the thought. Taking this as an invitation to continue the other proceeded to do so.

"The opportunity that presented itself to me recently was actually because I managed to get in contact with a tie to my past- my godson, to be exact." Even covered as he was, the Kazekage's mannerisms showed obvious surprise, something that was noted with great amusement. "As it so happens he's doing rather well for himself lately. So well, in fact, that he has influence in a rapidly growing Wave and close ties to the House of Wolves of the Imperial Fire Court."

The Kazekage didn't think he could be more surprised after learning that Orochimaru not only had a godson but was in contact with them.

He had been, obviously, vastly incorrect.

"He has ties to a House of the Imperial Fire Court?" That was bigger than having influence in Konoha, for if the Daimyo if Hi no Kuni were to offer words his own Daimyo would happily provide an ear to receive them. The potential for getting his village out of this mess was right there, in a few whispered words making it up the vine and across the desert. Would it be enough? Probably not, but it could get things started and that was more than he dared hope for previously.

"That he does, close ties, from what I understand." Yet another hidden grin formed, even wider than the last. "After all, he managed to get me permission to build an outpost near the village of Wave."

"Truly?" If he could get an outpost they had an opportunity to improve their situation by spreading the superior jewelry their artisans produced in a much easier manner. That would help everyone in the village given enough time.

Orochimaru nodded.

"The Wolves are rather territorial and yet they accepted my forces without issue at his word." Che, of course they did, he was their lord after all. If they hadn't they would have been killed for going against him- if not by Naruto himself than by Orochimaru. No one crossed her Godson without crossing her and she did not give mercy.

"Then perhaps that truly is an option. I will have to have you set up a meeting between us." The Kazekage frowned, something that Orochimaru could practically feel. "The council, however, will be harder to convince."

Orochimaru shrugged.

"They stand down or they die. Any who attack Konoha will be invading the territory of the Wolves and will be torn to shreds. Any who escape I will personally hunt down and deliver to my godson's feet."

There was actual devotion in those words, something that actually made the Kazekage's skin crawl. It was completely wrong to even think about an Orochimaru that was driven to any degree by feeling for another- to see it? He could not describe the feeling that shook his very being.

Orochimaru was scary enough, but for him to be driven meant that this godson of theirs held in his hands the means to plunge the entire world into darkness and chaos at a whim.

The very notion would rob him of sleep for the coming weeks.

And when he finally managed to drift into the land of slumber it would plague his nightmares.

* * *

 **See you all in two or so days for the next act.**


	46. Double Standard

**I should take a moment to write a proper AN but this chapter is late and I need to get to work.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's start.**

* * *

A single crinkled eye smiled down at his students, his other hidden- as usual- behind his headband. Three sheaves of paper were held tightly in one hand, awaiting his team to fill them out for admission to an event that could rabidly excel their newly started careers as Shinobi of the Leaf. For that reason alone he wondered if he really wanted them to enter.

Not because he was worried about their well-being or didn't want his team to move away from him- both were actually something he very much would like to see come to pass- but because it had the potential to help them.

If you turned your head funny, that was.

Nevertheless, it could be beneficial and Kakashi _really_ hated his Genin team.

Which is why he had such trouble deciding whether or not he really wanted to give them such an opportunity.

In the end, however, it was still a deadly tournament that could remove them from being his responsibility- and perhaps even amongst the living- and even if they didn't they would be tormented by their failure.

That had been the final thought that tipped the decision.

Letting them participate, struggle, overcome obstacles, and then fail? The thought of their disappointment and self-loathing was absolutely delicious.

Let it be known that Hatake Kakashi was a cruel mother fucker.

Of course, his comrades usually considered that a good thing.

They were, after all, Shinobi.

But that was a matter for another time. Right now he needed to pass out the papers, perhaps taunt them a bit, and then wipe his hands of them for the next two weeks before the first task for 'preparation purposes'.

In other words, he got to have a two week vacation to relax as his students got ready to face a challenge that could very well end both their careers and lives.

Oh, that was going to give him some happy dreams-

Dreams he wouldn't mind taking extra naps to experience.

The Hokage had said it once before, but it was damn good to be Kakashi.

"Alright, my little failures, I have a present for you all." They were used to the derogatory comments, having been assigned to Kakashi for some time now, but the cheerful voice he used warned them that this wasn't likely to be pleasant for them.

"What?" It was little more than a grunt but the team had been given more than enough time to learn the hidden language of Sasuke.

To be fair, though, this particular grunt was very near being the word itself. ]

"These!" He thrust out his hands, holding the papers very much like a bouquet.

Blankly his three students stared at him. When no elaboration was forthcoming Naruko crossed her arms over her chest and with a cock of her hip asked a simple and concise;

"What?" Kakashi seemed to deflate a little at the repeated question and lack of excitement and that made them all even more wary. If it was good enough for Kakashi to be in a playful mood it wasn't going to be good for them.

"Why, forms for the Chuunin exams, of course!" That got their attention. For a moment the three felt the excitement growing within their hearts but it ended up leaving just as fast as they shot him suspicious looks. It was Sakura who gave voice to some of the questions.

"Why exactly do you want us to participate in these exams?" She asked. "You haven't even had us a year and you've only half-assed teamwork exercises and taught us some chakra control so you could watch us fall out of trees repeatedly."

"Now, now, I just have that much faith in the abilities you already have." At their disbelieving stares- yes, even Sasuke wasn't so arrogant to think he was, with the knowledge he was in possession of since the academy, ready to go against those who had _actually_ been trained by Jounin- he continued.

"Sasuke has his Sharingan and plenty of fire techniques." He started. "And Naruko has her chains which draw from massive chakra reserves many times the size of those much older than her."

"And me? What do I have, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura, obviously, had been the one to ask this.

"You? Well….." Kakashi scratched the back of his head for a moment before looking about for a quick answer- something that didn't exactly lead to inspiring confidence in the young Kunoichi. "Ah! You have Sasuke and Naruko, of course!"

He received three more flat looks for that.

Two because they didn't like the idea of being in a dangerous exam with someone who couldn't hold their own weight and the other because she didn't want to be forced to rely upon the other two during a three-part challenge that could steal away her life.

Kakashi, however, really wasn't concerned.

"Well then, have fun!" Throwing the papers at them he disappeared in a swirl of leaves- one that happened to catch the papers as well. Team seven couldn't decide if the trouble of the exams was even worth chasing after the escaping papers.

In the end, however, they did recover them, each member claiming one for safe keeping-

Just in case.

Hiding in nearby trees, half of his attention on his beloved porn, Kakashi giggled.

One way or another, he might soon be free of at least some of his students.

He couldn't wait.

* * *

He should be angry, furious, sad, miserable, anything- but he wasn't no. No, that wasn't quite true. If there was one thing he could claim it was that he was _tired._ Bone-achingly, soul-encompassingly tired.

But beyond that unnatural weariness that permeated his entire being he had come to terms with the fate that had befallen him- the fate he had, quite honestly, brought upon himself.

He had accepted it then, when judgement was passed, and now there was nothing to be felt about his situation.

Nothing but, perhaps, even just a little bit of gratefulness.

Many would see his future as extended punishment from someone too cruel to grant his enemy death, but he was thankful enough to have this chance to continue being a part of his family's lives.

His family, after all, was the entire reason he had done what he did. A mistake that may have been, but the thought, the intention remained.

He wanted what was best for his family, and if that meant he needed to be forced to the side so that they could shape their own future than he was okay with that.

Some part of him still demanded that the weight of such duty fall upon his shoulders but it was silenced readily enough by the fact that he couldn't support anything on his shoulders. Not now, not as he currently was. Perhaps one day, Wolves willing, he might obtain prosthetics and lean to live an almost normal life once more, but that was probabl years away.

So for now he would just sit tight and make the most of the opportunity he still had to be with his family.

It was time- though perhaps earlier than he had ever really expected- for the next generation to take its place.

Hopefully they would learn from the mistakes of those that came before them.

Of course, he already knew his daughter was ready for it, she had shown herself more than capable of rising to be what the clan needed.

And that set his heart at ease.

Perhaps there really was a future for the Yamanaka after all.

* * *

It was a peaceful quiet that filled his home- one broken only by the shuffling of papers, the scratching of a pen over paper, Mai's occasional sip form her tea, and the almost inaudible humming of one of his Wolf guards as she brushed his still drying hair.

Having recently finished a quick spar with his Sensei- though she still didn't like him calling her that- and learning that he was, as he had feared, getting a bit rusty, he was understandably drenched in sweat. A quick shower, unfortunately, was all he had time enough to spare for. Taking over a country, one might imagine, would certainly have its fair share of paperwork.

A mercenary organization and the management of a secret cult within a prominent clan also produced a lot of work- work that was immediately addressed by those who would have otherwise been able to help him with the work he had now.

Sai took care of a lot of it on the Wolves' side and some of the remainder was seen to by Mai but she was also taking care of the majority of management- which included not a little bit of guidance delivered to the former heiress in how to keep things from happening too early- but even then work from both parts ended up before him on a regular basis. Even if it didn't, he still had to review everything the two of them were doing to ensure any future plans fit in as they needed to.

Then came Nami no Kuni.

Thank the gods for Hana. With her taking care of a good portion of the everyday dealings of the rapidly expanding town he only needed to work on the country itself.

Still a lot of work, don't get him wrong, but managing the yet to be developed land that made up a large chunk of his new country was far more simple than it would be if he had to worry about inhabitants too.

Unfortunately, it all added up to a lot of work even with the help he received from the three of them.

Which is why he was here now, poring over papers and reading reports in the little time he had. He had barely been able t justify that sparing session as a necessity in order to get away for a few hours but now he had the remainder of the day's work and not nearly enough time to complete it.

He should be able to get most of it done before he retired for the evening- though he had to wonder if he really needed that sleep. Perhaps some caffeine as substitute?- and then if he skipped training tomorrow he could catch up for the past week.

Going on a mission, it would seem, was not entirely conductive to keeping up with incoming paperwork.

With swift strokes of his pen he approved another request and wondered how something as inane as changing the color of sleeping bags from purple to red had managed to get all the way up the chain to him.

Did Sai just think it would be funny?

And even if it did, it had to go through Mai too, was she in on it?

Shooting her a suspicious look even as he set the paper to the side he could have sworn he saw an amused smile try to form on her lips as she recognized the request he had just read.

He forgot, sometimes, that the two of them were practically siblings. Then again, maybe they were. It occurred to them that he had never actually asked. Then again, he hardly saw how it really mattered in the end.

The thought of making her help him for that briefly crossed his mind but she had enough on her plate and this was one of her few chances to take a break. He wouldn't deny her a bit of well-earned rest, though he did wonder why she wasn't off with Tsume, the two of them seemed rather close.

He was about to return to his work when a knock sounded from the front door.

Odd. Anko usually just walked in and when Kurenai visited- though that was admittedly rare as she was busy with her team- she was almost always seen in by a Wolf. He heard the door open and whispered murmurs from outside the room as his second guard- who had been lounging on his couch with a magazine and a bowl of chips- went to investigate.

It wasn't long after that he returned with the Yamanaka heiress in tow.

Well, that was unexpected, but perhaps it shouldn't have been.

After all, he did just attack her father.

Fortunately, she didn't seem angry- outwardly, at least. That was a good sign, no?

"Ah, it would seem we have a guest today, might I ask who you're visiting as?"

A sound question, considering the various roles she held.

"Ino, daughter of Inoichi."

"I see." So not the clan heiress, not a clan member, not a Genin of Konoha, not a councilmember- as deceiving as that really was in her case considering Kushina held all the power for her clan at the moment- and not even as an acquaintance from the academy. Good to know. "So what brings you here, daughter of Inoichi?"

As if it wasn't so painfully obvious to everyone there. Mai pretended to only take polite interest in conversation despite being fully alert and the Wolf behind him had noticeably tensed while they continued at their self-appointed task of brushing his hair. Both were ready to leap to his defense- quite literally- at a moment's notice.

"Questions." She was still being vague, as if wanting him to ask a specific question, but they both knew it was merely a result of her trying to stay composed at the moment. He had to give her credit for that, it probably wasn't easy for her to come speak with him after what had just been done to her father.

He wouldn't insult her by pretending she wouldn't have immediately drawn the conclusion of the Wolves and further by ignoring the fact that she was absolutely correct.

"You seek questions?"

Her lips almost curved into a smile for the barest of seconds before being forced down once more- reminded of her current location and the reasons behind it.

"No, questions are what bring me here today, I'm looking for answers."

Gently he placed down his pen, folding both hands before his face as he met her eyes.

"And what questions trouble you so, Ino?"

"Why?" She paused but continued before it could be taken as her waiting for a response. "No, that won't get me the answer I need."

She tried again.

"What?"

One brow raised, instructing her to elaborate upon her question.

"What did he do?" There it was, a full question. "What was it that brought about such a reaction?"

"Ah, now there is a proper question." He leaned forward, now resting his face on his clasped hands. "Sit, Ino, and I will tell you of your father's two major mistakes."

Obediently she did so, sitting across from him. She didn't pay any attention to the cup of tea placed by her or the Wolf that had resumed their work on their lord's hair. Those weren't important right now-

This, however, was.

"The first mistake was, quite arguably, the largest, for had he not made it the second would never have been an issue." Naruto leaned back slightly, keeping one hand balled under his chin for support as the fingers of the other drummed lightly against the table. Almost as if on a completely different tangent he continued.

"I liked your father, you know, he always came across as having a good head on his shoulders and his devotion to the wellbeing of his family- that being you and your mother- and the clan as a whole was admirable. He liked to think things through and did so whenever he had the chance. I say this because even his mistake would be, in normal circumstances, nothing out of the ordinary. There is, of course, a single fact that changes it from acceptable to unforgivable. Do you know what that is?"

She didn't even need to think about that answer, it was far too obvious.

"It was made against you."

A double standard, perhaps, but that's how it was for everybody. So long as things didn't happen to you and yours you typically didn't care. The second it was, however, you couldn't let it go.

"Very good." He nodded, an approving smile pulling lightly at his lips. "Even then, however, there almost wasn't any issue with his actions. Like I said, he preferred to think things out and make plans before committing to actions. He seemed a bit hasty in this, but he did a good job setting things up nonetheless."

"He sent them- by design or fortune I know not- when I was away; the perfect time. He sent his best, those who would complete the mission or sacrifice everything in the attempt; the perfect selection. And he assigned them something that would avoid direct conflict; the perfect assignment." It was at this point Ino asked another question, not knowing even this much about her father's actions.

"Who? Who did he send?" She paused only briefly, now thinking about their task as much as their identity. "What did he send?"

Another smile came her way, one that gave of hints of pride.

It was a conflicting smile, for her, at least. While she was upset about what had happened to her father at his hands it was still nice to be recognized.

She'd come a long way from her past fan-girl self, after all.

"Spies." There was some relief to be felt in that answer. Spies weren't so bad in the grand scheme of things. Sure, they could make or break entire campaigns but they were also expected, a crucial part of this shinobi world. Assassins, likewise, were common with villages of Shinobi hiring out to the highest bidder, but those tended to be less accepted by one's enemies.

"Three spies managed to avoid my patrols for several days before getting caught." He further explained. "And that, in itself, is not the problem. There are plenty of spies around Nami no Kuni at the moment, both because it's inevitable and because I want word of the Wolves to spread. No, the mistake here is the single thing that made Inoichi's spies unique-

"They killed my Wolves."

Ino could have sworn her heart stopped at hearing those words.

That had been spies, hadn't they? Why on earth would they make moves against the Wolves, something they would have known could only end with the wrath of the pack crashing down upon the entire clan?

Hurting them was one thing, fighting them was fine, but to kill them? That was something the pack would not forgive and they had already shown cruelty even in their mercy.

The state of her clan before Kushina could attest to as much, and that was for mere words.

She couldn't even imagine what would be done to someone who killed a Wolf, but, then again, had her father not discovered that fate? Comparing the two transgressions to their punishment she couldn't help but feel- much to her shame and not a little guilt- that her father had actually gotten off too lightly.

Then again, had Naruto not said he liked Inoichi? Was that why the punishment was weighed against him less heavily? Or did it have something more to do with Naruto directing it all against one target instead of many and having to adjust accordingly?

If that was the case her clan would never be able to comprehend just how fortunate they were.

And that also explained why her father seemed so relieved despite his current state.

Not because he had gotten off lightly, but because the clan had been spared punishment from his mistakes.

Of course, she still didn't know exactly what those mistakes were.

Naruto, continuing on as if speaking of nothing of consequence, quickly rectified that.

"Considering that they were killed by the explosive tags on the spy they captured, tags activated by one of the spies as he fled, I have to say they performed to textbook perfection. In fact, the entire mission he had given them was as close to perfection as possible, the problem lying in the fact that the textbook perfect actions still carried a cost both to your clan and- more importantly- my Wolves.

"The mission cost them their lives, which was the first mistake. It was not fully his fault, I admit. He hadn't given them orders to kill my children, but it happened under his command nonetheless."

He paused there, both to give her a moment to process what she had been said so far and to provide a chance for her to speak. She took it, but once again it was to ask a question. No comments were made about his punishment or about anything being unfair. She didn't scream or cry or accuse him of anything.

No, just another simple question.

Clarification.

He had to wonder if she accepted it or was just very good at keeping her emotions under control these days. Either way, he was impressed.

"And the second?"

Naruto grinned again, but this time it was vicious. Still, there was some small smattering of pride in his eyes amongst what she was tempted to call arrogant amusement- as if the answer dealt not with the dealings of two humans but between a bug and a god.

His answer simply seemed to confirm her description of the look.

"He tried to hide it from me."

Of course. She was almost tempted to roll her eyes but she knew better that to try something like that. Perhaps if they were on better terms she would have risked it or, at the very least, were they noty talking about her father and how his actions had killed some of the Wolves- operatives that the young man before her considered his children.

"In fact," He mused. "He almost managed to do so. I suppose that means it was a third mistake that sealed his fate- one that brought the consequences of the other two upon him."

"And that was?"

This time, she did not receive a proper answer.

"Not important." He waved his hand as if dismissing the matter entirely. As far as she was concerned he had- for this meeting, at least. "I have to wonder, though, why you needed me to tell you what had happened."

She had not expected that but answered anyway.

"You cut out his tongue and removed his arms, it's not exactly easy for him to communicate and it's much more straightforward to ask you than to ask yes or no questions to him until I manage to convince myself I know what's going on."

"True, true," He began. Without warning, however, his eyes seemed to harden as they focused on her own. "But that doesn't mean there aren't other ways. I know for a fact a Yamanaka could simply enter his mind and speak to him there."

Ino swallowed nervously. She had, originally, believed that to have been something he had missed when he decided on a punishment. As it would seem, he was well aware.

It had been, of course, why she didn't come out and say she had already tried in the first place. That, apparently, wasn't a problem anymore.

"I tried, he wouldn't say anything." Naruto raised a brow, giving of a feeling of being half impressed and half curious.

"Oh, did he now? Nothing at all?"

"Not a thing." She confirmed. He wouldn't even tell me he wouldn't speak of it, just shook his head like he had done when asked about it in the physical world."

A small smile pulled his lips taunt.

"Like I said earlier, Ino, I rather like your father. He knows better than to try getting around my punishment. Perhaps, one day, I might give him leave to speak with his clan without restraint." He paused, tilting his head to the side before nodding to himself. "For now, however, let him know I'm pleased by his actions."

"I will."

"Good, anything else?" She shook her head in the negative. "In that case you are free to leave, I have paperwork to get back to." And with that his attention was once more upon the papers scattered before him.

Blunt dismissal as it was, she wasted no time in seeing herself out.

Of course, that means she was unaware of the purple eyes that followed her.

The Yamanaka really did seem to have a terrible habit of making his life interesting, didn't they?

* * *

The group did not speak, at least not in words. Rather, two pairs of eyes communicated basic emotions between them which said more than enough. Almost at once they turned from each other and to the subject of their silent discussion.

The youngest of the group, their brother, walked silently, his face expressionless and his eyes staring dully out across the expanse of sand they traversed. Despite being the youngest, however, he was, without a doubt, the strongest.

So strong, in fact, that he could crush them at a moment's notice without a second's thought or the barest of effort. There was, on occasion, comfort from that, for they were not his target, but neither was foolish enough to believe they couldn't become such in the time it would take them to blink.

Oddly enough, it was not his presence itself that put them on edge at this time. Rather, it was the words of their father that continued to play through their heads bringing about uncertainty as to the path they were expected to walk.

Their orders were simple enough, the meaning behind them well known- until now.

They were to visit the upcoming Chuunin exams like any other Genin and do their best to be recognized, but that was a minor detail in the end. Their main purpose had been to give cover for their brother's presence, something that couldn't otherwise be excused in a foreign village.

During the exam, specifically during the last event, their brother would release control over his body to the demon sealed within him and rampage through the village that claimed to be their ally. At the same time a force from both their village and a rather knew minor village would begin an invasion with the simple purpose of razing Konohagakure to the ground.

Or, that's what was supposed to be happening.

Now, though, their father said their partner- who was going to be providing a majority of the troops and summons that their own village didn't have ready access to- would no longer be participating.

An old contact of theirs, it would seem, had gotten a hold of them after many years and had apparently set up shop in Konoha. Whatever partnership those two had established previously was more useful that the destruction of the village- something that had been their idea in the first place.

It was suspicious, but it wasn't their place to question it.

Is was, however, their place to question what it was they were supposed to do now.

Their father told them to ignore the orders of the council, claiming that without their supporter aiding them they were guaranteed to fail and there were better off simply getting out should the others attempt to proceed with the invasion.

He was Kage, but the council was not powerless, were they reallyable to do so without consequences? Their Kage had tried to talk the council out of it, and some agreed, but the majority seemed dead-set on this course of action.

Heh, 'dead-set', wasn't that fitting?

Their eyes moved from their brother to meet one more time, both showing the nervous uncertainty felt by the other.

Their brother would be participating, his bloodlust would demand no less, but Temari and Kankuro would be perfectly okay with having no part in this.

They had to wonder if that truly was an option at this point.

* * *

 **See you all for the next act.**


	47. Shepherd of the Goddess

**As is becoming pretty regular I had things I wanted to add here but ended up putting writing them down off until I had forgotten them completely. Oh well.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's start.**

* * *

They watched her, tracing every energetic movement as she played her role on this great stage. An elaborate play directed by a mix of living and dead to bring about an ending she was not allowed to see. The script, if it could be called such, was a jumbled mess that made sense only to those who were privy to the truth.

Even then, she had a suspicion that not even they knew, truly, how this would end.

Victory or defeat, perhaps, but that was inconsequential. The paths to each one, the lingering results, that's what would likely define the world for time to come.

She, perhaps, did not focus on that fact as much as she should.

It was far too easy to simply slide into her role and play her part, sometimes the fool other times the puppet-master.

Sometimes, she had trouble remembering which was which and, more importantly, which was her.

Of course, either way she knew that she was _his_ and that would ensure she always had an identity. It didn't matter what role she adopted I n the end so long as there was a constant that connected them all to her past life, to her current life, and to her newest life.

Naruto, leader of the Wolves, served that role.

And she, in turn, served him.

It was a symbiotic relationship, in her eyes at least, but one couldn't deny that there were benefits present for both of them. They could argue quite extensively, however, as to who was getting the better end of the deal.

Not that she really cared, she never looked into it that far. She knew he was a part of her life- an important part- and in turn she would be a part of his no matter what it took. They had each other, and that's what she preferred to focus on.

She did not, however, enjoy focusing on the eyes that trailed her every move.

It was to be expected that she'd gather attention with both her act and the fact that she was one of only two women in this group of S-ranked men but it was who she was getting attention from that was the main problem.

She could stand the eyes of the others- and neither the Jashinist nor the Iwa nin were all that bad looking if you could overlook the verbal ticks (namely the 'un's' and the constant stream of vulgarity)- but there was one pair she could not accept looking at her, especially if the gaze was what she thought it was-

Uchiha Fucking Itachi.

Her no good, Kinslaying, traitorous bastard of a son.

Well, not really a bastard, she had been married for several months before he was conceived, but the sentiment remained.

Having his eyes on her at all was disgusting and infuriated her to no end but the thought that he might be, in any way, attracted to her made her skin crawl. That piece of filth would never be worthy of her, not after what he had done.

She couldn't fully hold him accountable, she realized, for he had no idea her identity- though it seemed he might at first with how much he started at her- and even she had to admit the figure she cut in an extremely tight- by Akatsuki standard- cloak was damn sexy.

She could understand, of course, but she didn't like it.

Not at all.

Still, it could have its uses.

If he was interested it was possible that he'd let his guard down providing her with an opportunity to make right her mistake-

The one where she brought him into this world.

Not only would it provide her a chance for both vengeance and to avenge her lost family but it would also eliminate a powerful member of Akatsuki, a group that could prove itself a threat to Naruto one day.

That couldn't be allowed to happen.

Of course, it was only because she could console herself with the fact that this was- at least in part- for Naruto that she was even able to consider such an action. There was just so much that could go wrong and the act to any degree was almost too horrible to comprehend.

But he was counting on her and she wasn't about to let her only precious person down.

That's why she found herself turning to face him, her body language not once breaking out of character but still managing to convey an almost innocent embarrassment. How it managed that was anyone's guess, but the way she bounced on her feet to make her hips sway certainly helped distract anyone who might think to ponder the occurrence.

If nothing else, it most definitely ensured she had his attention.

"Mou~ Itachi-Senpai, it's so embarrassing when you look at me like that! I'm getting all flustered~!"

When there was a noticeable dusting of pink on the usual stoic Uchiha's face she felt equal parts satisfaction and revulsion.

On one hand she had, for the moment, succeeded in catching him off guard and brought to his attention the fact that she was well aware as to how his eyes liked to linger upon her cloaked form. On the other, the traitorous shit she had given birth to was probably- as she thought this- believing she might be interested.

She was willing to bet the fucker was thinking dirty thoughts about her even as he huridly excused himself from the room.

Oh, what she did for her beloved son.

Naruto better show his appreciation when they next met-

Preferably with lots of cuddle time.

Mikoto loved her cuddle time.

* * *

He ignored the curious gazes of the sentries, at least a few of which were trying to hide amused grins. Still, they didn't try to stop him, so that was something at least. He didn't know if that was because he had been granted permission to visit by the head of the clan, because some of them were part of the cult allied with his forces, or because they could take one look at what he was carrying and know exactly what it was he was doing at their compound today.

"Do something wrong or trying to get some points built up for when you do?" asked one as he passed.

From behind his boxes from the local bakery he shot the man a smirk but didn't otherwise respond, carrying on with his load without pausing. He didn't both waiting for a guide- in fact, he openly ignored the clanmember that had been waiting to greet visitors on the inside of the gate- as he already knew where it was he needed to go.

Partly from having been here before and partly because he had Wolves who sent back regular reports containing details about everything from most popular dishes cooked by the kitchen staff to the complete layout of the entire complex.

It tended to give one such as he a slight advantage.

Cutting through a few walkways primarily used by servants- that was, branch members marked as slaves by their own kin- he made quick time to his destination.

He didn't know what actually brought her to the door in the end, his quick raps on the wood- how odd that the bedrooms here had wooden doors while regular rooms hod only ricepaper- or the smell of his gifts. Regardless, the door was thrown open even before his knuckles left the wood.

It was followed, naturally, by an embarrassed squeak. Whether that was from her actions or realizing who it was on the other side he didn't know but she did seem to be getting better. The fact that she was able to quickly recover enough to form words was evidence of that.

"Ah- Naruto-Kun!" She moved as if she were about to hug him but stopped at seeing the boxes in her arm. Momentary confusion gave way to recognition and an even greater eagerness overcame her. Practically bouncing she pulled him into her room before quickly closing the door and moving to take the boxes from him.

At the last second she paused, remembering who it was who held her prize but he only gave an amused grin which she took as permission to continue.

Moving them from his arms to a rather clear desk she wasted no time in throwing open the top box and taking in the beautiful sight of fresh baked goods.

He had a feeling his presence was completely forgotten when compared to the greatness of the assorted pastries.

Taking a seat on her bed- oh, this was much more comfortable than his own- he settled in to wait.

Ten minutes- and half a box- later he coughed gently to remind her of his existence. Another squeak followed as she spun around, looking very much like a guilty chipmunk as she cradled her half eaten cinnamon bun tightly to her chest, completely oblivious to the icing getting over her sweater.

"I take it you like my gifts?" He asked. The answer was obvious but he asked anyway. In response she frantically nodded her head, her cheeks too full to speak.

It wasn't Anko-adorable but it was, well, Hinata-adorable.

Hmm, did that just mean the two of them were adorable or was it something more along the lines of them both being Naruto-adorable, as it was him seeing them as such? He shook the thought from his head- he could ponder it later.

For now, however, his visit had more purpose behind it than feeding Hinata's insatiable craving for pastries.

Though, admittedly, that was probably more fun.

"I got your letter." He said simply. Hinata, who was in the process of swallowing her prize and regretting not asking another branch member for some milk first, almost choked at being reminded. Unbidden her eyes darted to her desk drawer where the small vial of blood sat innocently.

Or, as innocently as a vial of blood from a fellow Konoha Shinobi could.

So, perhaps not all that innocently, especially when it could be used to link her to whatever had happened to Inoichi- the details were still rather unknown for the most part and speculation ran rampant through the gossip vines around Konoha.

The fact that she had even thought of such a thing, however, was rather impressive. The Hinata before- and most of her classmates, no doubt, probably wouldn't worry about something like that yet- but to be fair she had been worrying about it almost nonstop for days now.

It was evidence, however, of the Wolves- or perhaps just Naruto- rubbing off on her.

In the world of Shinobi, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

At least not in this case.

He waited until she had recovered and fully swallowed what had likely been the entire other half of the cinnamon roll still spreading icing all over her jacket.

Should he point that out to the poor girl or- no, he'd wait. No need to get her embarrassed now, he could use it in an effort to change the subject later.

"I should probably start by apologizing, which is- in part- why I brought gifts. I haven't been keeping you up to date on the going-ons of the Wolves as well as I should have been and you probably felt quite lost when you received that particular gift."

She nodded in confirmation despite it being unnecessary and he gave her a small, warm smile- something to comfort the innocent young woman. Patting a place next to him on her bed he bid her to join him which, blushing deeply, she did.

She didn't know what role in her life he played but he was still a boy and they were going to be on her bed together, in her room, all alone. Of course, being the daughter of the clan head, this was the first time anything similar had ever happened. Perhaps if she had male friends- or even any friends- when she was younger it would seem less intimate and more casual. Unfortunately, sheltered really did describe her well, though the innocence it resulted in was undoubtedly cute.

When she did manage to make her way over to the bed and take a seat near him he reached out his right arm and dragged her until their legs were touching and then further until her side was against his chest. Placing his chin on her head- which was only possible because the small girl was at an angle- he began to fill her in.

"Inoichi is a good man." He started. "And I'm rather fond of him. He acts as a clan head and caring father should, the only problem is that for those reasons he couldn't ignore me. We had a ceasefire, a tentative truce, and though he was loathe to break it he needed to know what I was doing so he could avoid having his clan and his family in the way."

He paused now, giving her time to process his words thus far, before continuing on.

"The issue occurred when his efforts to keep from being the target of our wrath ended up bringing that very same wrath upon him."

"W-what did he do?" he couldn't' see her face but he was sure it was quite red at the moment.

"It wasn't even him,. He admitted. "He had sent spies to keep an eye on us, nothing that wouldn't have been expected of any good leader, but those spies, in their effort to keep us from knowing their identities and possibly striking out at their clan in retribution ended up killing my children. Five wolves died that night, stolen from me, all so that one of his spies might live to report to him."

"Commendable, for a Shinobi, but as a father I cannot accept such- did not accept such. Inoichi had already managed to get his spy out of Konoha and set up somewhere else which left him as the only one involved still around to feel my wrath."

"I had much respect for Inoichi, but that only increased when he accepted the consequences of his actions. He did not attempt to escape, he did not beg, and even when I left him able to get around some of his punishment he refused to use it. Such strong will, such character, is rarely seen."

"What was it you did to him?" The rest made sense, in a way. She was rather attached to her own Wolf guards alter spending so much time with them and knew that she would be hit pretty hard if they were to be killed. She could understand his anger and knew he would never let those that wronged him or his get away. The only question was the fate that had befallen the man he spoke so highly about.

How odd that he seemed to both curse and praise the man who had ended the lives of those he considered children.

"For his attempts to hide it from me I took his legs, that he might not run." Naruto began, aware of the way her entire body tensed and began trembling against him. "His arms, that he could never again raise his hands against my children. Finally, I removed his tongue, so that he could not order his men against me."

"One piece," he further explained. "For the life of each Wolf he stole."

Pulling her closer, she eventually ended up seated on his lap, her face buried into his chest as she came to terms with what the young man she currently clung to had done. It was horrible, absolutely horrible, and she had some trouble accepting that the one who had been so kind to her could do something so terrible to another.

"He's still alive, Little Lamb." He tried to console her, rubbing soothing circles over her back and well aware of the icing that was now being spread over his own clothes. How fortunate was he to have not worn his furs this day, cleaning them would have been horrible. "Alive and with his family. He was happy to take the full punishment earned by members of his clan so that the others might be spared. In the beginning and in the end, it was always from his choices, don't cry for him."

It took a few minutes but eventually she calmed down .Still, she made no move to leave his lap nor t trun away from the chest she had buried her face in.

"Inoichi, in that moment, was an enemy, a threat to my pack, my family. He paid the price for it but I would not steal his own family away from him. That's why I gave you the vial."

She looked up now, face filled with confusion.

"It's evidence of the price he paid, retribution for what he did against my family. You, Little lamb, and those here who follow you are protected by the pack. That vial is to remind you of what fate befalls those who go against us so you can be confident in the knowledge that we will do whatever it takes to protect you."

Of course, that wasn't true at all.

He had sent out the blood to all allies and she was one of them. She, however, was the only one who wouldn't know what the gift was intended for- she was also the only one who he didn't necessarily want to partake fo the blood. She was still so sweet, so innocent, and he liked that. The fact that it made her so much easier to direct only helped.

So when he received the letter expressing her confusion he realized his mistake and moved to correct it as quickly as possible. Personally, he rather liked the spin he had managed to put on it considering he came up with it on the walk here.

Admittedly, the main reason he had stopped at a local bakery was to give himself some more time to come up with it.

Regardless, it seemed to have worked quite well, all things considered, and the confused face had melted away to something between gratitude and admiration.

Gods above, she had been left so malleable by the actions of her family. He was thankful for that, he really was, as he had come to enjoy her innocence and the way she looked up to him, but it was still shameful that the Hyuuga would leave their heiress- even if they knew that position would be eventually claimed by the youngest- so desperate for someone to guide them.

He would be that person, that protector and guide she so needed. The Little lamb was a goddess to her people, and he her shepherd. Through her he gained formidable political strength and plenty of resources –or, he would, in time- and through him she gained someone to look up to who would care for her.

Perhaps not the most fair trade, but one couldn't deny that they both, in some way, benefited form the arrangement.

Even if only one of them was truly aware of it.

Still, there was no reason for her to ever know about any of that and so he just offered her a soft smile.

"Do you have anything we can use to turn it into a necklace for you? Cord or ribbon perhaps?" Quickly- he likened it to a frightened rabbit- she jumped down from his lap and started digging through drawers until she found a white silk ribbon.

From his position on her bed he could see plenty more and had to wonder if she had at one point had longer hair or if she was intending to sometime in the future. Her current style was rather cute but as she grew he could see it being less flattering, especially if she was supposed to be a goddess.

Best start on that soon, then, he would need her to maintain a firm grip on that position in the near future.

When she returned to the bed, tentatively resuming her position on his lap, and handed him the ribbon and the vial he began thinking of the best way to convince her.

The obvious would certainly work, all he'd need to do is ask that she grow it out for him. Even more, he could just tell her to grow it and she would. Adding the part about it being for him would go further, of course, but both fell sort. A more subtle approach would be preferable, one that did more to retain his position in her life.

And what better way to spin it than as a compliment that lead to them spending more time together?

He slipped the ribbon- now fastened securely around the vial- over her neck, taking a moment to brush away the hair that tickled the back of her neck.

"You have such lovely hair." He commented quietly, his fingers running through it. With her sufficiently distracted he continued. " It's a pity there's not more of it, I'm sure it would look amazing."

"I suppose it's for the better, though." He sighed. "It would be a bit difficult for you to take care of it on your own with everything I'm asking you to do- I would have to come help you brush it regularly."

He felt her stiffen a bit in his grasp before hesitantly asking "Really? You'd come brush it for me?"

"Absolutely. I'd be over here every night I got the chance to help you with it. And if something stopped me I'd send Mai over to make sure you and your beautiful hair were properly taken care of."

She practically melted back into him with that, no doubt thinking about how nice having someone there for her would be.

It really was a sad state she had been left in but he was extremely fortunate to be the one who placed themselves in the position it provided.

Was he manipulating the poor girl? Absolutely. He had use for her and her clan, something having both she and her sister under his control would certainly help.

That use, of course, made sure she was taken care of. She needed someone- anyone- in her life to guide her and he could honestly say this was for her own good. Better he than someone who would take complete advantage of the girl.

In his own opinion, at least.

Sitting on his lap as she was, she couldn't see the small, victorious smile that graced his lips.

He fully admitted to manipulating her, yes, but even he thought it a bid sad- though certainly beneficial for himself- how easy it was to do. She was the goddess of her people, revered as the will of fate given life. To them she was a guide, a symbol of light and a reassurance that their lives were predetermined. It was an odd belief, he felt, but if they drew comfort from thinking their lives had nothing to do with consequences then who was he to say otherwise?

No, their blindness was just fine as far as he was concerned, it allowed her to lead them and furthered her own need for him-

Her need for her shepherd.

It was a role he was more than happy to fill.

* * *

Ever-consuming was the darkness, a presence that wrapped around her from every side and threatened to devour her.

She had half a mind to let it.

The other half, however, protested vehemently. She couldn't;' surrender herself to oblivion, not yet, not after everything she had already endured. He was out there still, no doubt needing her guidance as he always had. Her place was beside him, his eternal companion, and she would never let him down by giving into this small trial.

She had overreacted, she would admit that, and it had cost her, but know she had learned from that mistake, realized that taking things into her own hands was the incorrect course of action when he was so determined to remain in control. No, the way to deal with any future problems was to simply direct him as he needed to be so he could do it herself.

So long as it got done what did the method really matter in the end?

If she simply had to play a slightly larger game in order to keep him pleased then so be it, she was more than willing to sacrifice the illusion of control to him if it meant she got to keep him-

He was far more important to her than a position that played solely to her own pride.

She would be much more proud knowing he belonged to her.

Still, there was little she could do know, trapped here to pay penance for her mistakes. So close she had been day after day and yet her jail continued to fall short on her end of their deal. Already the fool had tried to use her power against her warden, and that had been unacceptable, but not once had she approached him afterwards!

She should have been prostrated before him, begging for mercy and delivering her back into the care of her keeper. Instead she consorted with the young man's first enemies- enemies, she had learned, that had been gained due to her own actions, much to her shame.

She had chosen poorly, acted too hasty both when she had made her move and after it had been discovered and in the end she had left him with the results of both.

That was, of course, why she still payed for her actions, until she had the chance to make it up to him, to prove that she did still have his best interests at heart- though she always had- and that she could still be trusted to be a part of his life.

But that would all take time- time she didn't have. With each day her chances seemed to shrink exponentially and the knowledge that she would be back in his presence teasing, laughing, and dining in the wonderful world he had made all for her had become more akin to a distant dream.

Ever so slowly, she felt as though she were waking up.

And when she did, it would all be lost and she would spend the rest of eternity trapped within this god-s forsaken darkness, never to see him again.

That was unacceptable-

But how could she properly convey that to the girl?

Deep within the darkness, Mito smirked.

Oh, she had a few ideas.

* * *

He paused in his stroll, attention caught by the familiar shouting of sparing. Odd, that sounded very much like the heiress but as far as he was aware she trained only with him

Perhaps she was looking to surprise him during their own session next time?

Altering his course he came to the main garden of the Hyuuga, aware of the various branch members that had similarly paused to watch. It was too be expected, really, especially when this area got so much traffic through it daily. Still, for it to have completely grabbed hold of their attention meant it must have been interesting.

He was right.

His youngest daughter, the heir to the Hyuuga clan, slowly moved in tandem with her opponent, drifting clockwise in a circle as they waited for an opportunity to strike first or, failing that, the chance to counter their opponent's move.

That really wasn't all that interesting- though he would admit that it was a bit strange for Hyuuga to circle each other like that, which may have been the cause for the change- rather it was who she moved against that caught his interest.

Genin Naruto, ally of the Wolves, moved in perfect synch with his daughter, both feeling for weaknesses to exploit.

Oh, and he was shirtless.

A quick scouring of the garden revealed the missing garment crumpled on the ground covered in- was that frosting? Blinking twice- and momentarily activating his Byakugan- he could indeed confirm it as frosting- though perhaps it was icing, it was difficult to tell. Either way, it could easily be explained by the boxes nearby.

His late wife had possessed a sweet-tooth just as bad as their daughter's and he was very familiar with the local bakeries as a result.

Speaking of daughters with sweet-tooths Hinata was sitting next to the boxes nibbling on some sort of pastry as her eyes followed every movement of their guest. For once, her jacket was nowhere to be found. If he had to guess, it had probably shared a similar fate to Naruto's shirt- in fact, he was willing to bet it was the same accident that had gotten both pieces of clothing.

Hinata had always loved hugs, after all, almost as much as cinnamon rolls.

Both had likely had a hand in Naruto's shirtlessness.

That aside, everything else seemed pretty straightforward, something supported by Hanabi's sudden lunge, hands knifing to shut down the boy's Tenketsu-

And then he moved.

Opposed to the angular force of the Juuken his own style favored smooth curves that- while perhaps a bit more elegant- possessed no less strength, every movement like a crashing wave.

Truly, a description befitting an Uzumaki- his ancestors would be proud.

His movements, however, were not the focus. Rather, the results of those movements were what was realy important. After avoiding a few well-aimed strikes from his heiress Naruto flowed forward and twistedhis left hand until the palm was facing Hanabi's right shoulder.

Her own hand, ready to deliver upon him the wrathful justice of the Hyuuga, stopped in place, two fingers to her wrist stopping her strike and, as he continued to move his arm away from him, redirecting it.

She was left wide open and off-balance.

He didn't hesitate to take advantage of that.

Right palm striking her sternum she was sent to her back without breath, staring up at him with wide eyes.

She was not the most skilled Hyuuga, but she was fast. That tended to be more important to the style that relied on a great number of accurate strikes. So it was saying something that she was one of the fastest in the clan when she put her mind to it.

That had not been the case now, of course, it was just a spar, but she had still possessed a decent speed.

A frown marred Hiashi's face as he watched the boy offer a hand to his downed daughter, one that she, surprisingly, took without complaint or trickery.

It was an obvious weakness that their style was so rigid, speed and the dangerous nature of those very strikes working to even it out into a solid style well suited against most opponents, but seeing the boy moving reminded Hiashi that meeting someone faster could negate the primary advantage of Hyuuga Shinobi.

More concerning, however, was that Naruto had more than just sufficient speed, but also seemed to move against his daughter's Juuken without too much effort, as if he knew what to expect and how he needed to react before she had a chance to strike.

Naruto knew how to counter the Juuken and, despite what appeared to be him teaching the same to his daughter, his hands resting on hers as he stood behind her and walked her through a set of movements that were obviously intended to block strikes in the areas his clan usually targeted, it was horrible to see a counter so casually displayed, and in the middle of their compound, no less.

Naruto was his opponent in the game, but he had to wonder-

Did Naruto actually see it as a game?

* * *

 **See you all for the next act.**


	48. Three Grains of the Desert

**And here we have the next act of Sealkeeper; number forty-eight. It's hard to believe, but Sunday will actually mark the one year anniversary for this story and my return to writing.**

 **I was originally under the impression that I had posted this story on the twelfth and was actually looking forward to posting a chapter that day but it looks like I was a bit wrong about that and I'll just have to settle for pointing it out a bit early.**

 **Not much more to say, really. I considered adding more scenes and pushing off the actual update until Sunday but I think you've all waiting long enough.**

 **With thanks to ncpfan for all his help, I welcome you all to tonight's show.**

 **Raise the curtains!**

* * *

The early afternoon sun was pleasant against his pale skin, touching it for the first time in who knew how long. Which was to be expected, of course, for one typically did not go outside without a shirt.

Or, at least, he didn't.

Partly because he didn't have much time to do so and partly because shirts were rather helpful in keeping his seal covered.

Well, both of them, really, but they came so close to each other that it could be difficult to tell them apart at times.

Still. The less people saw them the less questions that would arrive, questions that he really shouldn't be answering. The truth about his second seal should not be known to mortals and even the gods were displeased by its very existence.

That much he remembered from his time with Mito.

Mito- now there was a name he had not heard nor thought for some time now.

Idly, he wondered what had become of her, though the answer was simple enough.

She was in her seal, the same place she had always been. The only difference was that his own seal no longer rested at the edge of that one.

Actually, that didn't make much sense, did it?

No, the seals were still connected, they had to be- it was the same seal, just spread over two physical locations with two separate chakra systems in order to fully contain its prisoner.

Now that he thought of it, how did that work? Two seals, he could understand, but from what he knew it was a single seal in two parts now which kept Mito locked away. Perhaps he should really look into the sealing arts, if only so he understood how his own seal would operate. His use of it was simple enough, he wanted something to happen and it did, but exactly how it went about doing so escaped him and he hadn't before bothered with the details.

Thinking of it in terms of the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, however, made it feel just a bit more important.

Especially considering that he was a bearer of her seal.

The very seal that was now almost indistinguishable from the seal that would take his desires and translate them into functional seals so long as they had a base component to work with.

That could very quickly go horribly wrong if he wasn't careful.

A shiver tore its way down his spine.

Why was it now these thoughts struck him? He had been experimenting with the seal to find some way for Sai and Hinata to add and remove, respectively, specific seals, but not once had any similar thought crossed his mind.

Was it because he had last thought of Mito during his spar with his sister and before that not since he had found the Wolves? Had she simply been so far from his mind that he had not considered the consequences of tampering with his own seal- not that he had any intention of that, mind you- when all he would need to do so was to with it done?

He had to wonder just how conscious he had to be in order for the seal, which fed directly from his chakra system as far as he could tell, to determine it a valid desire of his and change things without his knowing.

Was a simple dream enough for it to set to work, potentially releasing the Kyuubi no Kitsune, turning the seal into a bomb powered by her, or even tearing apart space and time?

Seals, be default, dealt with the manipulation of special reality. It was a terrible power, even in its most basic of uses, one that could not be underestimated. And yet this whole time he had not so much taken it for granted but rather had not considered the true power it possessed.

Removing or modifying seals would be seen as a grand achievement by the world, something a most skilled Sealmaster would be required for, but that was nothing compared to the true, and now he realized absolutely terrifying, potential held by the ink that had been applied to his right arm.

Then again, perhaps he should hold off on that, even if just for a short while. If this had unlimited potential would it not be better for him to come up with uses he might have for it before he learned of any supposed limits that might otherwise force him to abandon ideas before trying them or determining the seal wouldn't actually work and therefore produce faulty seals that otherwise would have been perfect?

Yes, he'd let himself have some time without limits before learning what others knew of the sealing arts. Once he knew things were truly possible he wouldn't have to worry about being convinced otherwise and missing out on such wondrous opportunities.

He was pulled from his musings by a shout nearby, that of a small child. Curious, and now noticing all the stares he was getting from walking through Konoha without a shirt, he decided to investigate. One back alley followed by a side street had him on one of the less sued roads of Konoha. It was curious , as the buildings that were on one side were the very buildings of the market district.

Why they hadn't built them back to back facing the main street and each steet directly next to it he would never understand- perhaps people preferred their shopping areas to be crowded and noisy?

Of course, that really wasn't important at all.

What was important was the image of a young Sarutobi being held aloft by what could only be a Suna Shinobi. A young woman- slightly older by his estimations- stood somewhat behind him with her arms folded and one hip cocked, waiting impatiently so she could continue on.

The whole noble routine was going to be a bit difficult to pull off with him shirtless, perhaps he should take more of a Wolf approach?

No, too aggressive. These were guests of Konoha, after all, he'd just have to improvise.

Pity, things were so much easier with a plan.

"Sarutobi!" He called as he walked further into view. That drew the attention of everybody there, as was the point, but it also gave those who were perceptive enough a moment to realize their situation.

The blonde was one such person and her eyes quickly darted to the young boy her brother was holding by the shirt.

She did a remarkable job keeping her composure but she did pale noticeably. Invasion or not, with the current Hokage being of the Sarutobi clan anything against them was a rather bad idea.

"I understand your desire to welcome our allies to the village but perhaps next time you might want to go about it in a less energetic manner, no?" Konohamaru, not about to argue in his current situation, nodded rapidly and, with the Suna Shinobi distracted, managed to squirm out of his grip. He wasted no time in running to the perceived safety of Naruto.

"Your uncle's probably treating his team to lunch about now, you could likely manage to get in on that if you're fast enough." He shooed the boy off with those words and whether it was to get a free meal or just to escape the area only he could really say.

Naturally, he would claim it to be the meal, as he wouldn't run away, but that really wasn't important.

As soon as Konohamaru was gone Naruto turned his attention to the foreign team and his face went from that of a somewhat disappointed yet not truly upset elder to a grin- more of a smirk- that could only be described as vicious.

"Not the smartest are you, Bunraku?" It could have been a sign that he knew what kind of a Shinobi he was or a jab at his outfit, neither of which would have pleased the Suna Shinobi. "Raising a hand against the grandson of the Hokage and the nephew of a former Guardian Twelve? A very, very bad idea."

Naruto's grin widened just a bit as the potential consequences of his actions were realized by the puppeteer. "You're welcome." He said, drawing attention back to himself. "Who knows what might have happened to you should I not come around?"

Kankurō scowled and even his sister seemed a bit displeased with what he was saying.

Naruto wasn't bothered by the reaction.

"Captain?" he asked, much to the confusion of the two Suna Shinobi. "Care to help me enlighten our guests?" Without hesitation a Shinobi wearing the mask of a wolf dropped from one of the market buildings and landed next to him.

The buildings only went up three- and on rare instances four or five- stories up and there were empty lots between the building itself and the side road they were currently on. All in all, not a bad jump, but what was more impressive was that he was able to hear them from that distance and was willing to respond to the redhead's request.

Neither foreigner would let themselves think on just how much he resembled their brother and how terrifying it was to see someone so similar smirking at them.

"Of course, Naruto-Sama."

That, more than the man's willingness to answer the young man's call, made the elder of the two uneasy. Kabuto, more interested in puppetry than the outside world, never bothered with any of the political lessons. She, however, liked consider herself more than familiar with those of any importance in the grand scheme of things.

Not once had she ever heard of someone by the name of 'Naruto' and she could think of no reason for an ANBU to be referring to him with such respect.

The wolf mask turned from being angled barely towards the young man to being directly at them- Likely right between them in order to get that effect.

"Performing such actions on a Shinobi would have been bad, a civilian would have been worse, but you chose an academy student belonging to a prominent Shinobi clan to whom the Hokage belongs."

"And how close were they to you taking action?" Inquired Naruto, the smirk never leaving his face.

"We could have intervened at any moment." Answered the Wolf. "But I was holding my squad off until the puppeteer actually struck him. "

Kankurō, knowing just how close he had been to doing so looked understandably uneasy. His sister, however, focused on another part of his answer.

He had said 'squad', the boy had called him 'captain', they were likely surrounded. Her eyes darted from side to side in an effort to locate them, looking in areas both obvious and ridiculous. At first, she couldn't make them out at all but almost as if knowing she was looking they began slowly showing themselves without fully emerging from their positions.

The color drained completely from her face.

Not because they were surrounded, that had already been established, or even because she couldn't immediately find them- she was a combat type, not a sensor or tracker- but because they all had the exact same mask, that of a snarling wolf.

These were not ANBU as she- and no doubt her brother- had assumed, no, these were _**Wolves.**_ The very group their supporter for the invasion had chosen to ally themselves with instead. A supporter that, if her father was to be believed, held grudge enough against Konoha that it was he who proposed the invasion in the first place with the goal of wiping it from existence.

Somehow, this obviously Konoha- aligned group had managed to convince him to forsake such goals as it better served their own interests.

It went without saying then, that it was a terribly stupid idea to anger them within their own territory.

Almost as if sensing her rising unease in the presence of Wolves who came to heel at the sound of his voice he waved his hand in a vaguely dismissive gesture.

"Thank you for your help, Captain, I can take this from here." With only a nod the man obeyed, quickly followed by the rest of the Wolves.

It did not comfort her as much as she might otherwise believe it would have. For while they were now gone it had only further illustrated the power this young man held amongst them. That had been a _Captain_ not the highest of positions but certainly not a grunt, which meant the person standing across from them looking like a shirtless version of her youngest brother was not low on the totem pole.

Not when he as giving them orders during what was obviously a patrol.

They had been acting under current orders- that was, to patrol- and yet he had modified that and they accepted without question.

That took substantial influence.

But she had no idea who he was-

And perhaps that was why.

There was only one name known to them in relation to the Wolves, the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni himself; Tsukiyomi.

Did she believe this to be him? Of course not. Walking down Konoha without a shirt and being no older than her own siblings? Preposterous.

The fact that the Wolf had referred to him as 'Naruto-Sama' helped a bit, too.

There was no way anybody would chose a name like that to hide under.

She'd ponder whether or not that might be the point of choosing it but already she realized she was probably overthinking things. The young man had a connection to the Wolves, that was good enough for now.

"You, you're with the Wolves, aren't you?" She questioned simply.

He cocked his head slightly to the side.

"Perhaps." He eventually answered, his smirk growing until it reminded those looking on very much of a wolf who had cornered his prey. "Is there a reason you need to know?"

"My father's looking to get in contact with them. An…acquaintance…of his informed him that they currently stood behind them and suggested he do the same.

"Oh? Interesting." The smirk dropped from his face, leaving a serious expression behind so quickly it was almost jarring. "I wouldn't worry about finding them, if they're interested they'll find you."

"And how would they know we were interested in the first place?" She questioned, once again cocking a single hip and resting a hand on it. "I don't suppose they just approach everyone that catches their fancy and expect them to be agreeable, do they?"

Naruto scoffed.

"Of course not, that would be foolish, but, like I said, you don't need to worry." The smirk returned briefly. "They already know you're interested."

Was that admission, perhaps, acknowledging that he really was with them? Or was that a hint that they were still being watched. Earlier had already proven that they were unable to detect the hidden Wolves which meant it was possible they had never left at all.

Or, perhaps, they had been contacted by the same person who suggested them to her father the Kazekage, in which case it would confirm that he was, in some way, associated with the group.

"Now, I would suppose you're father's…Acquaintance…" He said the word as if it amused him, twirling it on his tongue and letting it drip off like he tasted something wrong with it that no one else did. "Made some additional suggestions. I'm quite curious to see if those, too, found themselves heeded by your father."

Well, no doubt now. Definitely some sort of Wolf.

Temari swallowed nervously before answering, well aware that it wasn't the most favorable of responses. Not exactly the kind you want to give in enemy territory- or what came very near to it.

"My father was accepting enough of the suggestions, though there were many who were less so. It's entirely possible that they might disregard the advice delivered to them."

Kankurō shot her a look ,well aware that she had practically admitted to the invasion still being planned and knowing that her words may have just locked them into a particular course of action- one that might have them against their brother.

That was not something either of them would want, psychotic killer who could crush them with a thought or no.

Naruto, on the other hand, tilted his head once more.

"Your father's going to need himself some strong allies soon, it's not going to be easy keeping a hidden village active when it has no Shinobi force."

It was spoken far too plainly, the truth rather than a possibility, and both Sand Shinobi knew it. Their father, too, was aware just what the actions of the council might cost them but the fools were so shortsighted and desperate to repair the damages done to their village over years of their Daimyo's neglect that they couldn't see their path would end only in ruin.

Of course, not everyone there agreed.

Slinking from his tree in a flow of sand Gaara stood across from Naruto, arms crossed over his chest and teal eyes narrowed.

"Suna doesn't need a Shinobi force." He declared, his voice somewhere between grinding stones and shifting sands. "They have me."

"Patriotic." Commented Naruto. "But not enough."

"Patriotic? No, but so long as they provide targets I'll stay with them. I prefer the sand and Sunagakure is convenient to me."

"Alright, so not patriotic, but that doesn't change the fact that you alone can't make up for the absent Shinobi forces of an entire village. At best you'll be reduced to a minor village."

"Then I'll just crush all the major villages until we're the biggest."

Naruto gave an amused smirk, having no trouble recognizing a Jinchuriki when he had been in contact with the Kyuubi herself.

"How arrogant you must be, Shukaku, to believe such when even the minor village of Takigakure possesses Biju greater than yourself."

Gaara's hand immediately shot up to grasp his head, pain flaring as his inner demon raged. Kankurō and Temari both backed up to the side of the street, moving slightly behind their brother so they wouldn't be caught by any potential crossfire.

"M-mother," Gaara stammered. "Mother demands blood."

Naruto shook his head as if he were disappointed in the response.

"Then your mother is a fool." With deft flicks of his left hand the bandages that were ever-present on his right arm fell slack and were pulled away from the skin with ease.

Gaara's teal eyes looked up to the Shinobi across from him just as Naruto pushed chakra through the seal matrix that covered his arm, lighting it up so that it could not be missed.

Within Gaara's seal Shukaku immediately froze. He knew not what his container was seeing, being the lesser of all Biju, but even so his instincts screamed at him about the danger it posed to his existence.

Shukaku, more than anything, desired to continue upon this earth.

Sand that had begun gathering behind Gaara, ready to be used, suddenly fell flat, trembling like puddles upon the ground as the single-tailed beast likewise coward before the unknown threat. This went far beyond knowing he was going to be sealed or having one of the other Biju angered at him and seeking recompense, no, this was something that trespassed upon the realm of the gods and even he could see such.

"N-No, no!" Teal eyes widened farther than they ever had, staring in disbelief at his fellow redhead. "Stay away!"

His reaction brought a smirk to Naruto's lips, satisfied that it seemed so easy to cow the Biju who had far too much influence upon its container. Temari and Kankurō, on the other hand, felt all warmth leave their bodies, a freezing dread grasping fast upon their souls.

"G-Gaara." Temari managed. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"Mother's scarred, it scares mother!" His breathing became fast and shallow, panic like he had never felt settling in. Mother had always been there for him, making him greater than all around him. There was nothing that could threaten him so long as he remained in her favor-

Or so he had thought.

Never before had he felt so weak, so vulnerable.

He hated it.

Hated it like nothing before.

But for now he knew fear and its all-encompassing grasp. Previously spared its presence he found himself paralyzed by it, uncomprehending on how he was supposed to cope against one of mankind's most base instincts when it had been stripped from him oh so long ago.

"She fears it, she fears him, I won't let him erase us!" He continued, his voice frantic as his limbs trembled with a desire to flee supported by adrenaline wasted upon frozen muscle.

As much as he wanted to, he could not move, not in the presence of his first remembered predator.

He did not mention the rest of his mother's words, it had been hard enough to find the ability to speak the others. And while Shukaku's initial terror was bad, the conclusions he drew about the situation made everything worse.

The Biju comprehended nothing but the fact that before them stood a threat with a power in the domains of the divine, there was really only one conclusion to draw from such-

They stood in the presence of a god.

Gaara could have sworn he saw it after that revelation. The being's smirk seemed oddly pointed and purple eyes sparkled ion amused threat, waiting for him to dare make a move against it. Skin, pale as the moon, almost glowed in the early afternoon sun and lent him an ethereal quality. Finished with the arm depicting symbols Gaara could not hope to recognize blazing with power waiting to escape skin, the thing across from him was suddenly very much a creature above his understanding.

The redhead wouldn't understand that he was overreacting based on the sudden flood of fear and the gibbering of the weakest- and least stable- of the Biju that he chose to believe. He would only understand that his mother believed it so and his eyes confirmed it for himself.

He was no match against this creature, he would not dare make a move out here in the open when iit was so clearly expecting it.

No, that would not be conductive to his continued survival.

He would live now, escaping its wrath to draw further breath, but it would always be a threat, a being that could crush him at a whim.

It was a very real threat, one that couldn't be allowed to exist, but it would-

For now.

Just until Gaara had some way to guarantee his victory against it.

For the first time since his childhood the young man actually began to think, began to plot, and began to act like a Shinobi instead of a force of nature.

And so, Gaara, Shinobi of Sunagakure, decided on his first move.

Falling as though a marionette with string cut he landed upon his knees and draped his body over them, laying prostrate before the predator in hopes of extending his life long enough to eliminate it.

His siblings starred on, unable to comprehend the situation or their brother's actions.

That was fine, they didn't matter, if they wished to anger this being they were welcome to it. In fact, that was preferable, as then he may get to bear witness to his opponent's strength and gain insight as to how he might bring about his defeat.

Kankurō continued to struggle, moving his gaze from his prostrate brother to the young man who caused such an event and being unable to decide upon a course of action. His elder sister, luckily, came to his rescue.

"Our apologies, Naruto-Sama," She borrowed the form of address she had heard earlier. "We meant no disrespect. I pray you understand that the desires of the Biju are not our own and that we wish upon you no harm."

Naruto shot her another terrifying smirk before turning and walking away, slowly rewrapping his arm.

"Remember, then, to behave yourselves." He looked over his shoulder one last time and each one of them felt as though he was looking directly into their own eyes. "For the Wolves _will_ be watching."

And with that he turned down one of the alleyways to rejoin the marketplace, three Suna Shinobi left behind to wonder who the hell they had just met.

* * *

A knock interrupted their meeting, his secretary popping her head in to announce a visitor.

Well, not really. The only thing it interrupted was the semi-comfortable silence that had fallen between the two former rivals. They still were, in a way, but the game they played at this point was minor and done more out of habit than anything else.

"Yes, yes, send them in." Hiruzen hadn't even been paying enough attention to hear the name of his visitor, his attention more on the paperwork he was trying to finish up for the day. There had really been no point to postponing it if he and Danzou were continuing the meeting despite having nothing else to discuss.

It really was familiarity more than anything that had them scheduling the same meeting for the same time on the same day of the week for the past decades. Even if it amounted to nothing these days the habit was ingrained by this point and it just wasn't worth the feeling of something being off that would accompany any attempt to change things at this point.

Of course, the one who did step into his office was a welcome surprise.

For the most part, anyway.

Hiruzen was still fond of the boy but was a bit put off by how he was changing. The fact that he had created a rift between them when he used to consider the boy and his family his own further added.

The chance to see him and possibly mend those relations, however, was always welcome.

"Ah, Naruto, good afternoon. What brings you to an old man's office on such a fine day?" A bit more relaxed than he was when Naruto had a chance to establish their relationship for any conversation between them but that was the benefit of speaking first.

Not that he really expected his own set tone to stick for the duration of the meeting, it probably wouldn't last through the young man's first sentence.

"Hokage-Sama." Responded Naruto, ignoring the fact that he was still shirtless- Hiruzen wasn't even going to ask- and starting off in his fully professional tone.

A pity, really, Hiruzen- and no doubt Danzou who had turned to look at the hokage's second (uninvited) guest- would have enjoyed a game of words with the young man. Before he could think too much on it Naruto continued.

"Suna's forces are preparing to move." He didn't' come right out and say it, but that was pretty damn close and further set the tone of today's encounter.

In his own seat sitting at an angle on the Hokage's right Danzou gave a rolling nod.

"Quite," He commented. "We've noticed increased activity of Suna for weeks now. This is nothing new." One brow raised as if asking whether or not he knew of something new to add to what they were already aware of.

"They plan an invasion to occur during the Chuunin exams."

Hiruzen blinked twice as he processed the words before briefly narrowing his eyes at his two guests. In the end, however, his face relaxed and a single brow rose in silent inquiry.

"I just encountered the Kazekage's children. Despite his best attempts the Shinobi, supported by the council, of Suna are planning on using the third event as a cover. I had already been informed as to the planned invasion and was just waiting to see if Rasa would call it off. He's thus far been unsuccessful."

"And how, Genin Uzumaki, did you come to learn of this?"

"I have…friends…beyond our walls who learned of a supporter who was to aid them in this endeavor. They have been…persuaded…to rethink their actions against Konohagakure. The result of them withdrawing their support should have been enough to dissuade Suna from any attempt as to do so would result only in the decimation of their Shinobi forces and condemn Sunagakure to a minor village at best."

"And you wouldn't happen to know why they've continued anyway, do you? Those of the sand are usually far more focused on survival than anything else and I find it hard to believe that even in their situation they would take such a gamble when the odds are against them."

"Of course, Hokage-Sama." Naruto gave a shallow sweeping bow that almost seemed mocking but Hiruzen was more pleased that the young man was expressing anything in his presence at the moment than irritated by any perceived insult. "They're banking on the Kazekage's youngest son."

No more needed to be said, both leaders understanding immediately.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Muttered Danzou. "Figures they would trust our destruction to the Ichibi." He snorted. "They should know better, though. Ichibi is indeed formidable compared to normal Shinobi and even to other Biju when at home in the sands pf Kaze no Kuni but outside its domain its power is severely reduced. Jiraiya would probably be able to fend it off and we have Naruko who's been trained in accessing the Kyuubi's chakra-"

"Mito." Cut in Naruto almost before he realized he had spoken. To Danzou's raised eyes- really there were simply some questions that were too obvious to waste words on, especially when those talking were of such similar mentalities- Naruto elaborated a bit more. "The Kyuubi goes by Mito and is quite fond of the form of her first jailer. There are slight discrepancies to differentiate between the two but the resemblance is easy enough to see."

When the old Sarutobi's brow started to raise with his own question Naruto just pointed to the exposed seal over his heart that had very nearly fused to his other seal. Hiruzen nodded in understanding. Naruko was the Jinchuriki but there were those aware that two bore the seal.

"Very well," Continued Danzou. "Naruko has been trained to access Mito's chakra and that alone will likely be sufficient to defeating the Ichibi. Suna is foolish if they think they'll succeed."

"Perhaps they won't achieve victory, but there will still be substantial collateral damage in any battle a Jinchuriki is a part of, especially one as unstable as Sabaku no Gaara, we'll need to find a way to minimize it if we can eliminate that threat entirely."

"I may be able to help there." Commented Naruto, his gaze resting upon his bandages. "What does Konoha think about having a second Biju in their possession?"

Hiruzen stared at him like he had grown a second head but in his seat to the side Danzou just grinned.

Oh, yes, Naruto would make a fine replacement when the time came.

* * *

 **See you all for the next act.**


	49. Probably Not a Fishing Trip

**It's been a while, but the stage is finally set for the next act.**

 **Technically had it done a couple days ago but I felt- and ncpfan confirmed- that it was missing something. To spare you all a lackluster chapter, I went back to add some more which took far longer than I had believed it would.**

 **Nevertheless, it's ready now thanks to ncpfan's help.**

 **I'd like to promise the next chapter will be out soon but it started pouring at 4:30 Saturday morning during my run and I woke up yesterday sick so we'll see how much I can actually get done by next week.**

 **In case I don't make it in time- which, face it, I probably wont- I want to wish everyone happy holidays.**

 **Now, let act XLIX commence!**

* * *

Excitement and worry kept her from falling asleep until late that night but even then there was no rest to come. It felt as though the second she closed her eyes they opened again, taking in surrounding she had seen only a scant few times.

Only the first visit had really been to her benefit.

Water, murky as always, swirled around her ankles as she pushed herself up, idly noting that- as usual- none of the water had actually soaked into her clothes and she was left perfectly dry despite having been able to feel the cold water rush by her.

It was such a strange space, but she really should have never expected differently.

She was, after all, within a seal, the product of an art form solely dedicated to the manipulation of time and space.

If anywhere was going to defy logic, it would be within these artificial cosmic boundaries.

Letting her eyes wander she noted it seemed cleaner than her last visit- no, not cleaner, that was a bad word to use considering the rubble littering the floor and broken furniture that peaked out like strange plants struggling towards a nonexistent sun.

Tidier, perhaps, would better describe it, debris having been moved closer to the sides of the flooded basement to create a clear path deeper into the depths of the seal. With nothing to do but follow it, she quickly found herself surrounded by ever-growing accumulations of rubble until the two piles were so close they fell into each other in an arch and made a tunnel.

It wasn't' a long tunnel, but it was enough to make one feel as if they were entering another world, especially considering how much work had been done within those boundaries.

How odd, she briefly thought, that there would be artificial boundaries within artificial boundaries manipulated by little more than ink. How so must the universe churn in unease that its very existence had been violated so, for the mere purpose of containing a collection of energy.

The fact that said collection of energy had continued with even more boundaries that would no doubt be deemed unnecessary was like pouring salt into the wound.

That is, if the Universe even cared.

She supposed that if it hadn't done anything yet then it really didn't matter. Turning her thoughts from pondering how the universe viewed seals and their use by humanity she instead took in the room, for lack of a better word, that had been created.

Large chunks of concrete- some smashed walkway, perhaps, pr maybe just a foundation that had been torn asunder during whatever disaster had struck between the Kyuubi's imprisonment and her first visit, which very well could have been the Kyuubi herself- had been arranged around the piles of debree in a large circle, acting like walls.

In the gaps between the greater pieces were stacked smaller remains of whatever structure this had once been. It gave the effect of a once great place that had been reduced, rather than just a giant pile of trash as she had viewed it on her first visit.

Like that time, however, the resident of this od place was in the middle of everything. Unlike last time she sat upon a solid wooden chair- it was a miracle it had survived in such good condition considering everything around them, she had been damn fortunate to find that- that in turn rested upon a solid piece of black marble a good ten times larger than it in every direction covered in no more than a half inch of water. Another piece of the black stone- though substantially smaller- had been used as a footrest to keep the bare feet of the Kyuubi's chosen form from having to remain within the water.

Other pieces of the black marble, in every shape and size, were scattered in something reminiscent of a garden pathway- albeit one submerged in water as opposed to being placed over grass.

It was, in the end, a rather interesting place. One fitting, she thought, for a dream. Which was good, of course, because it was currently taking the place of the dreams she should have been having.

She spent just a moment peering into the darkness that hung above them- on that note, where was the light coming from in here? It was too bright and she couldn't find any source for it. Come to think of it, the entire area she had awoken in was like that too, but now that she turned back too peer out of the tunnel she had just come from it was pitch black. How strange- before turning her attention to the being of this realm.

All things considered, it didn't seem much like she had much control over this place. If she did the chances of it looking anything like this were really slim unless she had extremely peculiar taste.

Then again, she was dressed in the form of a dead woman who had sealed her within herself decades ago.

Perhaps peculiar taste was a bit too mild a way of putting it.

Still, she was the only being that permanently resided within the confines of the seal and even though she was the Kyuubi no Kitsune and had taken an untold amount of lives over the millennia it felt odd to think of her as a prisoner when the prison itself was tied to her own chakra coils. Despite the fact that the Kyuubi was in fact a prisoner here Naruko really didn't like to think of herself as a jailer or, as the Kyuubi herself preferred, the jail.

Eyes meeting- blue against crimson- they remained silent, both waiting for the other to speak.

Predictably, it was not the millennia-old entity composed of sentient energy that had the greatest issue with patience and Naruko's voice broke the still silence that had hung between them.

"Decided to talk to me again, Kyuubi?" She asked, arms crossing over her chest. "What is it?"

Perhaps not the best approach but she had always been rather blunt and she was missing sleep she was going to desperately need come the morrow and the first trial of the Chuunin exams.

Mito raised a delicate eyebrow, held it for several beats, and then shifted in her seat, adopting a posture more akin to reclining.

The first Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi had always possessed a regal bearing and the Kyuubi, admittedly, pulled it off very well. She looked for all parts the queen of this strange land ready to bear down judgement upon the insects crawling at her feet.

"There was a reason I had stopped speaking with you, girl." The voice was just as cold as Naruko had expected and had a bite all too appropriate for her current expression. It was strange to think this was the same sobbing woman she had found during the trip with her mother, the being that had been so desperate to be returned to her brother that it was willing to give her complete control of her vast powers.

Of course, she had also tried using that very power against the brother the Kyuubi was so desperate to be returned too. It was to be expected, really.

"It was one mistake, I was angry." Huffed Naruko defensively. "You know how your power reacts to anger and I had been practicing harnessing it for years. It was second nature at that point."

"And yet that one mistake resulted in Naruto-Kun being hurt. You could have killed him or, worse, driven him away from us permanently." Naturally she had used 'we' when she really meant 'me' but Naruko had to admit it would be awful to never repair the relationship with her brother.

Unlike the Kyuubi- she really didn't like calling her Mito despite, or perhaps due to, the form she took- she would prefer that to Naruto's death. She could see the reasoning behind the Biju's feelings, though. Having him gone was one thing that she could come to terms with but having him there and yet out of reach would be a special hell.

For the Kyuubi, at least, Naruko would be fine so long as her brother was happy. It wouldn't be easy, but she could accept it and carry on until she did manage to repair their relationship, even if that took the rest of her life and her goal never truly came to fruition.

"And now you want to talk with me." It was both statement and question and was sufficient in prompting the ancient being to continue.

"Yes, I most certainly do." The Kyuubi nodded, eyes narrowing in an expression that looked almost accusing, as if Naruko had purposely performed some grievous crime against her. "You know our deal, you know what I want- your progress has thus far been unacceptable."

"In fact" The Kyuubi briefly paused, anger and irritation in equal parts temporarily crossing her face. "We are likely farther from the completion of our arrangement then we were before. You've gone backwards and it's unacceptable."

"It's not like we don't' want the same thing-"at the Kyuubi's glare she amended her statement. "Or, at least, that our two goals coincide to give us both what we want from the same action. That is, repairing my relationship with my brother. It's just not easy when there are so few opportunities for me to interact with him. I mean, he was gone for a month! Different teams is bad enough but he's always gone either on a trip or taking missions with higher ranking Shinobi he's befriended."

A smirk crossed the Kyuubi's lips.

"Exactly." She practically purred in a jarring change of attitude. "That leads into what I want from you now."

Before Naruko had a chance to protest or express confusion about her words Mito continued.

"Naruto-Kun goes on missions with higher ranking Shinobi because he doesn't have a team to take missions with. If I'm not mistaken, you're about to go for a promotion, no?"

Naruko wasn't stupid- naïve perhaps, but not lacking intelligence- and was easily able to understand what the Kyuubi was getting at.

It wasn't all that bad an idea, actually; in fact, it sounded just about perfect considering the current situation. This may very well be exactly what she needed to start mending her relationship with her estranged brother.

That is, if she managed to make it to Chuunin during the exam.

"That- that might actually work." She admitted, an expression of both hope and grudging respect crossing her face. "I would have to get the promotion though."

Here Mito grinned again and without warning crimson energy poured out from the walls, slipping through the cracks in the hand-stacked debris to completely enshroud the Uzumaki heiress.

Unlike recent attempts to harness the power herself there was no burning pain accompanying the cloak of pure chakra. Instead, raw power energized her entire body and sent warm shivers of pleasure down her spine. A haze, thick and smothering, settled over her, slowing everything down as her muscles, tensed and ready to act, felt to her as though they had relaxed more fully then they ever had.

It was a terrible power, the kind men would sacrifice worlds to obtain, and at this very moment it coursed deep in her veins ready to be directed as she willed it.

Another shudder racked her body, muscles spasming even as they seemed to melt while nerves fired of feelings of pleasure she could only describe as 'right'. This is how it was supposed to be, this was the true nature of a Jinchuriki, and there were no sacrifices above herself, host of the nine-tails.

With a suddenness of being dropped in a frozen ocean and trapped beneath the ice without warning the power vanished and her body reeled in sock. Emptiness gnawed away in the cavity of her chest, a hunger to be whole again, and at once Naruko realized just how horrible that power was.

That had not been the minimal amounts she had practiced harnessing nor had it been the uncontrolled energy that rebelled against her when the Kyuubi stopped aiding her control of the volatile power. No, this had been its true form, something she had never before encountered.

The Kyuubi, its attitude, and its actions seemed far less strange if she had possessed that terrible power for her entire existence. A shudder- this time of horror- trailed down her body. Just imagining how a lifetime of that power could twist a person made her sick, for she had only been under its influence for a few pitiful moments-

And she was honestly trying to come up with things that she wouldn't be willing to sacrifice to have it again.

That power, she realized, understanding dawning in her mind that had eluded some for centuries, was not meant for humans.

In fact, she would go as far as to say no human could ever truly harness that power, for the second they did they would become something else, something bent and twisted until they were little more than a vessel for the sentient chakra that flowed between their flesh and consumed their mind with soft words of malice and empty promises of greatness.

And it was not a single voice that whispered so, for a great host chorused within the power, each voice crawling to be heard over that of its fellows.

The Kyuubi- her personality, at least- had been born from that.

Suddenly, she didn't seem all that bad.

Her thoughts were broken by the voice of the very being she had been contemplating and in a sudden rush she found herself struggling to recall her previous thoughts though they pulled at the back of her mind, begging to be remembered with such urgency she nearly panicked.

The words that continued to come out of the Kyuubi's mouth, however, drove them further away.

"That, child, is my power." The Kyuubi's eyes glittered dangerously with a veiled amusement that put Naruko on edge for reasons she was sure she was supposed to be able to identify and yet the only thing she was able to come up with was a grudging respect and a feeling she was tempted to label camaraderie. What had brought that about? "And for the duration of the exams, it is yours."

Power, yes, that's what she had just felt, but why was it no more than a fuzzy memory of warmth and pleasure? Was that the true nature of her chakra? Was that how the Kyuubi felt it?

No wonder she considered herself superior to all other. She would too if her own chakra was always keeping her on cloud nine.

"I expect you to make Chuunin so we can rejoin Naruto-Kun." She missed the way the Kyuubi's tongue shot out to lick her lips. "And once we do, you can have the power permanently. I won't need it once I have him."

There was something wrong here, she knew it, but the only thought she could muster on the subject seemed too small to actually be an issue. Still, the feeling nagged at her and so she gave her thought voice.

"Naruto-Nii isn't an object." She insisted. Mito smiled indulgently.

"Of course not." She agreed as Naruko slipped from the ream of her seal to the realm of her dreams, Mitos' will no longer anchoring her to this world. "He's far more precious than any mere object could ever hope to be."

Absentmindedly Naruko nodded in agreement as blackness overcame her sight and she vanished from the seal.

Mito's smile followed her, red eyes glinting in victory.

Things were finally starting to go right for her.

* * *

It was the first time in many, many days she had allowed herself to sleep in, most of the things needing her attention between the Yamanaka and her own clan having been seen to, so, naturally, she was woken from her slumber by hurried noise echoing through the house.

With a growl she turned over and tried to fall back into the sweet embrace of sleep but was denied by pounding footsteps right outside her door. With a glance at the clock showing eleven- what an ungodly hour!- she surrendered herself to her fate amongst the waking world.

Inoichi's recent incident- one he still refused to comment about, eve to his clan through their mind techniques- had been the last of the things she had to take care of for the Yamanaka clan, arrangements needing to be made to accommodate the recently crippled man and ensure the most smooth transition for his daughter's taking of his position.

Seeing how heavily the girl had already been involved, it hadn't proven too difficult, but it was still more on top of the mess she had already been trying to clear up- namely the fact that the clan was on the verge of falling apart when she stepped in. It wouldn't have bothered her if her ploy to entice her son back to the family had been successful but it was hard to think it worth the effort- and money- she was sinking into it when all she had to show for more than a month now were bags under her eyes and control over a clan that had lost any standing it once had.

Adding all that to the fact that taking control of the clan had actually irritaterd her son, who had his own plans for its future and was loathe to let anyone shape his work it really had been a terrible idea.

The fact that other clans weren't as friendly anymore- wary of falling to the same fate- had also realty reduced potential allies. Seeing as those allies represented entire clans- a large chunk of the Shinobi populace- it meant that she wouldn't have much help in gaining favor from her son again.

Not that she had been doing much on that front lately. Not only was she coming short on ideas but she had been absolutely swamped with the management of two clans. One of which was rich but without many members and in dire need of re-establishment as a prominent force in the world and the other was a clan of several dozen with almost no financial support and whom the public had begun distrusting due to the careful manipulations of a group they had pissed off by going against her son.

Of course, that was the same reason she had gotten into this mess in the first place. In the future she should perhaps leave revenge to those 'Wolves' and instead focus on his wellbeing and happiness. No point wasting effort that could be spent on him if they were going to ensure any who went against him suffered.

She didn't' really know how to feel about some secret organization associating with her son but at least they were looking out for him. They had her gratitude for that, at least.

She really needed to come up with some way to bring him back to the family- even just as a family friend. At this point she really wasn't' all that picky. Maybe she could spend today- seeing as she had been so rudely stolen from her sweet rest- coming up with ways to show how much he meant to her.

To them, actually. She hadn't seen Naruko much due to her workload. Maybe they could catch up and do some bonding over coming up with ways to get Naruto back into their lives.

' _Speaking of Naruko'_ She thought as footsteps, once again, pounded loudly past her door. _'What on earth is she up to?'_

Not bothering to get properly dressed- it was going to be a lazy day, damnit!- she instead wrapped her rather fluffy red comforter around her shoulders like a robe. Satisfied by the comfort to effort ratio she blearily rubbed her eyes as she went to open her bedroom door and nearly stepped into her returning daughter.

An orange and blonde blur spun past her, narrowly avoiding a collision, and continued on with a distracted "Mornin'"

Blinking after the retreating figure Kushina shrugged and began slowly padding down the hall, her comforter trailing in a long trail behind her.

The kitchen was a mess. There was no other way to put it. Shinobi tools were scattered everywhere, breakfast was in the process of being prepared in several places, rations were laid out next to fresh supplemental supplies, and her daughter darted around triple-checking everything.

Kushina didn't even want to think about the uncomfortably large stack of explosive notes next to ready paper and half-empty inkpot or the medical supplies which doubled the total number of items being prepared, most of which were chakra pills and pain relievers.

Kushina could not fathom what her daughter might be doing. Even an extremely long mission for a Chuunin- which her daughter was most certainly not- shouldn't require such provisions. Idly, she wondered if Kakashi was up to his usual antics and doing things just to mess with everyone around him.

Having his team believe they were going on a mission for the next year and a half and needed to be ready was something she, unfortunately, could see him doing. He would also show up late before mocking his team for believing him.

And then, on the one time they didn't believe him and neglected to pack he would pull a mission out of his ass just so they could suffer for not following orders.

Usually an amusing thought, but not when one of her children was on his team.

"Have enough, Sunflower?" She asked, raising one brow. Were the Uzumaki coffers any less full she may have been concerned by the sheer amount of supplies her daughter had gathered. Those dry rations weren't tasty but they were damn expensive, just as you could expect anything that might save your life to be.

Apparently her entrance had gone unnoticed- likely because she hadn't been home this late into the morning in quite some time and wasn't' expected to be present at all – as her daughter spun around and grabbed for a Kunai, nearly dropping the eggs she had went to start cooking.

Well, at least training with Kakashi was inductive to keeping you on your toes. There weren't many Genin who took things seriously enough or had the experience to go straight into a defensive state.

Or maybe that was just here in Konoha. Peace did wonders for the population, patriotige, and economy but not so great things to those expected to keep things that way. It was an unfortunate cycle, one Konoha had been fortunate enough to manage to stay on top during. Unfortunately, every turn seemed to weaken it. Ot that she couldn't say at least that much for the others- every generation of Shinobi was less than the previous- but it seemed more noticeable here in the leaves.

"K-kaa-chan!" The hand with the kunai dropped the blade and instead went over her heart as she attempted to even out her breathing. "Don't scare me like that!"

A small smirk quirked at her lips. "Sorry, sorry, That hadn't been the intention." She waved one arm to encompass the various piles strewn about the room. "Think you have enough?"

Naruko let a critical eye pass over what she had gathered before scowling.

"No." She huffed as she placed down her eggs and made another trip further into the hiuse. She emerged with a crate- Kushina rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things and it was, indeed, an entire crate- of rations. Balanced precariously atop were general store bought first aid kits, both Shinobi and civilian, and slung over her back was an old duffel bag. It was only when she had placed down the burden in her arms that Kushina was treated to the contents of the bag.

It had been stuffed full of Kunai, Shiruken, and metal wire.

The clan matriarch had to shake her head. Whatever she was planning for, this was overkill.

Admittedly, she had to admire how despite being so packed full of sharp and pointy objects there didn't seem to be one rip or hole throughout the entire bag. She hadn't learned that trick until mid-Chuunin and it wasn't something she remembered covering with her during their trip.

"What on earth are you preparing for, Sunflower? Is Kakashi taking you all on a three month fishing excursion off the coasts of Kumo?" The sad thing was that she could imagine him doing so just to amuse himself. The bastard didn't even like fishing- or fish, for that matter.

Naruko seemed surprised at first before realization crossed her face. "Ah, that's right!" She proclaimed. "You've been busy so I never got the chance to tell you we had been entered into the Chuunin exams. Today's the first exam."

Kushina blinked once, twice, and then a final time as she processed what she had been told.

The Chuunin exams.

The goddamn _Chuunin exams-_ and her daughter was a part of it. Small measures of guilt gnawed at her chest. Had she been around more she would have been able to help Naruko prepare for such a task, especially considering how soon they were participating. They hadn't even been a team for half a year and they were expected to get through this?

No, this was Kakashi, he probably expected them to fail. If she was generous she could say he as using it as a learning experience though it was far more likely he was trying to get them to leave she Shinobi lifestyle so he didn't have to deal with his team anymore.

In that case he was not fully to blame, for it was well known he didn't want anything to do with teams and everyone who knew him could tell you he would be far better taking a single apprentice.

Apprentices were rare, however, and Konoha had always pushed for teams whenever possible to ensure proper comradery. It was likely her own son might have been an apprentice because there were too many graduates but then they ran into the problem of there not being enough teachers. She was available, of course, but their personal styles differed too much for a proper master ansd apprentice relationship.

He would be doomed to never reaching his full potential and she would only be able to pass on so much of her own style to someone not compatible with it.

If she and Kakashi had taken each other's places, though that could have worked.

Actually, that still might.

Pushing that thought aside for the moment- most definitely to be thought about later- she focused back on her daughter as she darted around the kitchen.

"Oh? So soon? Kakashi must have a lot of faith in your abilities." Commented Kushina, gratefully accepting a cup of coffee even if it did seem to be wavering the boundary between hot and lukewarm.

At this Naruko scowled again before sighing.

"I guess he does, kind of." She admitted. "But only in me and Sasuke. Even then he doesn't seem to expect much from us and just laments we aren't Naruto-Nii. I don't think he's all that familiar with his skills either, he just uses him as a figure that's always beyond us and an excuse to be disappointed in everything we do."

Naruko slumped into a chair with her own cup of coffee- likely colder than the one Kushina had just been poured from the pot- and a half-jammed piece of toast. She didn't even realize the toast hadn't been finished until she took a bite and sighed in defeat, not having the energy to correct her mistake at the moment

"Honestly." She continued. "I think he's just bitter he didn't get Naruto-Nii on his team or a chance to apprentice him. He's mellowed out a bit but he was pretty irritated on the day we were told our teams."

Idly, Kushina filed that away for her think session later that day.

"Had Kakashi been in contact a lot with him while we were gone?" Asked Kushina. "They may have been training together or even planning on doing missions with each other."

"No, from what it sounds like I'd say they only ran into each other on occasion but were on friendly terms. " Not knowing how true it was, Naruko wisely chose not to inform her mother of the crimes her sensei had apparently not only witnessed her brother commit but also had a hand in.

"A bit odd that he would be so set on having him on the team then."

Naruko just shrugged.

"I guess, but it's really his business more than any of ours. I'll just do my best to make Chuunin and then that will be one less student he has to worry about"

Kushina thought that it was simultaneously very mature and rather depressing to hear her daughter say that. Kakashi really wasn't' cut out to be a teacher. Still, her daughter was going to make the most of it and continue on in true Uzumaki fashion. Kushina smiled proudly at her.

That smile only increased with what her daughter said next.

"Besides, if I'm Chuunin then I can accept missions which mean Naruto-Nii won't have to wait for any of the other Chuunin to be available anymore."

And still, thought Kushina, it became even better.

"And if even one of us does become Chuunin we may be able to substitute them out for Naruto making it a team of Genin and giving him a shot at the next exam."

Kushina had already planned on enjoying the Chuunin exams, glad for a chance to relax after so long, but after hearing not only that her daughter was going to be part of it but that her success might actually help her estranged son had Kushina infinitely glad she received reserved seats as a clan head.

Previously all her attempts had felt like she was trying to brie her son back into the clan which, let's face it, she was, but now it seemed situations that might be used to both benefit him and bring him closer to one of the clan's only two members were just falling into her lap.

Maybe there was some hope after all.

* * *

Kurenai shouldn't have been surprised Anko was present in the Jounin lounge with the other Sensei who had teams competing despite not having a team of her own.

She also shouldn't have been surprised the pineapple-haired woman had broken the rules and brought with her a Genin.

Which Genin shouldn't even need to be specified considering there was only one the Tokubetsu Jounin ever associated with.

The young man raised a single arm in something more akin to a salute than a wave but somehow managed to be neither in a very Kakashi-esque manner.

Of course, she hadn't even considered it would be possible for him to be present during the Chuunin exams. His lack of team had completely slipped her mind, especially when he was always out on missions.

Taking a seat to his right- and avoiding Anko's attempt to hug her across the young man without getting up- she gave him a brief smile before scanning the room for its other occupants. Konoha, at least, seemed to be all present. She really couldn't speak for the foreign competitors as she hadn't paid enough attention to the number of them participating.

It wasn't like she really cared all that much, either, it just meant less people to injure her team. Sure, other Konoha teams wouldn't go easy on them but she was certain none of them had any desire to permanently maim or kill any of their comrades.

Then again, she could be wrong, but that really wasn't something she wanted to dwell on.

Returning her eye to the two nearest her she could only roll them at the image of Anko holding fast to the red-haired Gennin as if she needed comforting after her rejection. Naruto was playing his part well enough by idly patting her back. He looked a bit bored but there was a hint of faint amusement in his eyes.

Not that many his age- and quite a few older- would actually mind having the Tokubetsu Jounin hanging onto them like that.

Still, it was good that someone was giving him physical contact on a regular basis- for Anko spent most of her free time trying to amuse herself in Naruto's presence because she hated being alone, especially when bored- because she knew she wouldn't be able to.

A handshake, perhaps, maybe a small hug- light and lasting only the barest second, or one of them pulling the other out of danger, but she was still uncomfortable around him.

Or, rather, it felt wrong to not feel uncomfortable around him as she was with so many others.

She was, however, getting better. At least she could converse with him over the dinner table on the occasions she visited or hosted both he and her best friend.

And look, she was even seated next to him today and finding herself relaxing as much as a Jounin can in a room of other foreign Jounin. That was marked improvement and she was damn proud of it. A little more time and she might be able to sit close enough to him that they were in constant contact.

It was a far cry from the affectionate elder sister role she had initially wanted to fill when he was young- and it would seem by the time she reached that stage he would be too big to use as a teddybear- but it was better than not being a part of his life because she was so on edge around him her instincts acted as if threatened.

"Afternoon, Kurenai-san." He greeted, changing from small pats to rubbing circles over her friend's back. Anko had stopped pretending but she made no move to stop him. For a moment Kurenai was jealous but quickly managed to push it aside. She'd be comfortable enough around him in time, she just needed to be patient.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-Kun. Are they about to start?"

He lazily gestured to the two eternal Chuunin who were struggling to set up the screens tied to the cameras hidden In the exam room.

"We're having some technical difficulties." His response was dry but that flicker of amusement didn't die out. His attitude seemed slightly off today, but Kurenai couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was eventually deciding it was a combination of being around strangers that would keep him rather formal and friends whom he usually let himself relax around.

She was, in part, correct.

* * *

Of all those who lived here not a single soul was not present. From the wealthiest new shipping managers to the most recent vagrant hoping for opportunity in the rapidly expanding port town- soon to be port city- not a single one wanted to miss this.

And no one could really blame them.

Never before had their country had anything anywhere close to this. Sure, Gato had his mercenaries and there had been the limited guard with the Daimyo that predated him but this, this was an army.

A proper army.

Their army.

Dozens upon dozens of feet fell in synch, identically dressed men and woman marching down the streets of Nami no Kuni, proudly holding banners of a two-tongued ball of flame- the symbol of Hi no Kuni- rising over their own signal of stylized waves like the dawning sun.

And a dawning it was.

Their home could no longer be considered the same small fishing village it had been for so long under Gato and it had far surpassed the declined state it had existed in during the past few Daimyo. Now they were a city, growing ever more prosperous each day and rapidly expanding at a rate that most still couldn't believe despite being there to witness it.

They had a proper leader now, one they could trust with their wellbeing, in Inuzuka Hana, the governor of Nami no Kuni and now they had an army like a proper country. Things were finally looking up but there was an undercurrent of unease that penetrated the excitement.

They had an army, yes, and that was great, but that very army was currently on the march- to where they hadn't the faintest clue. Outside forces working for a master- the Mysterious Daimyo- whom they had never met and going about his business without question.

It was not their army so much as it was a force controlled by the same individual that controlled them and now he moved his pieces as part of a scheme they would know nothing about until its conclusion.

Of course, they were aware that not all the forces were directly the Daimyo's. He had invited allies to their village, allowing them to build up their base and offer their support to the growing country and they paid him back now by marching in step with those who bore the faces of Wolves.

Watching it all from over a roof was their leader, not the silver haired one but his own master, a woman with long black hair and a pleased grin that sent terrified shiver down their spines.

That was the face of sound, the person whom their Daimyo had allied them with, and, most importantly, the person who would be directing their army.

It was not a pleasant thought, but one who chose someone like Hana- and one whom Hana would accept being under the command of- couldn't be too bad.

Still, as they watched the army march steadily into the forests at the edge of the waterway separating their home form the rest of the world they couldn't help but feel as if their world was changing far more than what they were already having trouble adapting to.

Regardless, they still wished the best of fortune to the departing army, their army; for it was the nature of man to stand firm behind the side they called their own even when it was wrong.

An old, almost dead flame of patriotage was relit within the hearts of those who witnessed the parade of warriors and within the young a spark was born that would not soon die.

For there was nothing more inspirational than to see a force assembled for the sole purpose of spilling blood and ending lives in the name of your home.

Watching it all, Orochimaru smiled.

It was almost time.

* * *

 **I'll see you all for act L, I hope you enjoyed the show.**


	50. Monitors- for Rank Jounin and Above

**Yeah, it's been a while. Trust me, there is no one more keenly aware of such than I. But, after having taken far longer on this chapter than should have been possible, it is finally complete and ready to post.**

 **I'm not sure when the next one will be out, as I've been quite busy as of late, but with any luck not nearly as far away as this one has been.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **It's been delayed enough, raise the curtains!**

* * *

He paid no mind to those milling about. Too cautious to be anything but insular within the groups they had arrived but too nervous and excited to keep completely still or pay attention to the level of their voices, they were fools. Some were smarter than there fellows- whether that be groups as a whole or simply certain individuals who were actually going to take this seriously.

Previously, seeing such competence would have made him excited, not because he too took things 'seriously' but because they were the closest thing to a threat he would be encountering and would therefore be more valuable as proof of his existence.

But now there was a threat, an actual danger to his life that threatened to erase his existence.

A god of flesh with skin of the moon and hair of the freshest blood. He was war, he was death, he was someone whose very presence sent his mother into terrified shivering deep within his mind.

One day, in order to protect his existence from fading, he was one who would lie dead at his feet.

It would be the greatest proof of his existence that could ever be.

But he was not ready.

Not yet, perhaps not even in the next decade or two, but, one day, he would be.

He just needed to make sure he advanced faster than the god could gain more strength.

That, of course, led to a problem-

How did the god he had met gain his strength? Was he born to it, as he himself had been, or was there something he had to do to get where he was despite his obvious divinity?

He needed to know more of this 'Naruto-Sama'. Yes, Naruto-Sama was appropriate; for it was evident he was currently greater, much greater, than he was. That, he had decided one night as he sat upon the roof of their hotel, was deserving of respect, even if he had never before shown respect to anybody in his life.

His eyes left the groups that filled the room and briefly darted to his siblings. Both were nervous but they weren't yet panicked.

Good, he hadn't shown up yet.

When they had first arrived they both had scanned the room for his presence and then took turns scanning the room again and keeping close attention to the entryway, swapping between themselves just in case one of them missed something. Satisfied they had not overlooked his presence- not that he thought it would be possible after having met with him even once before- they both kept steadfast watch over the door.

His brother's puppet clicked and clacked almost too quietly to hear but much more loudly than the usual silence it kept while upon his brother's back wrapped tight in long strips of fabric. Fingers, long and dexterous, twitched irritably as nerves and adrenaline at a threat he fully believed to be only a few steps away at any moment coursed through his body. There had been little thought given to his siblings before he was confronted with the living god but now he paid enough attention to know that even with shaking hands Kankurō's control would be incredibly impressive by puppetry standards.

His sister, on his other side and probably not aware that she and Kankurō had both moved to flank their younger brother as opposed to the previously preferred method of standing together some distance from him, had her fan planted firmly before her, hands resting atop it and beating a constantly changing tattoo he was sure reflected the beating of her heart as she kept desperate lookout for the potential opponent who had had made a Biju submit to him in absolute terror.

One who also happened to be associated with an up and coming group of mercenaries who had recently come into possession of an entire country and a position within the Imperial Fire Court. Going against that, be it alone or with the backing of her entire country, was nothing short of political- and quite likely very literal-suicide.

Being more politically aware than both her brothers combined, the thought that they were outmatched both on and off the battlefield had her just a little on edge. That Naruto was out of their league in every possible way and he might be part of this very exam- an exam in which she would be part of his competition, if it could be called that.

She was fairly certain that the young man who could make a Biju tremble at his feet was more than a match for any Genin who might be unfortunate- and foolish- enough to go against him.

She'd pity any bastard ion that case if it didn't have the additional benefit of keeping her out of his attention.

She would very much like to remain completely invisible to the one who scares Shukaku, thank you.

Of course, the fact that Gaara- even though he was now paying more attention- was able to notice such and was well aware of how his siblings felt told one just how obvious it was.

Moving his attention from his nervous siblings- he would know well enough if the man entered were they to suddenly move into more defensive positions and, if the others in the room had any common sense- everybody else reacting to the living god's presence.

Once again his eyes traveled over the various groups that were scattered across the room in- for the most part- tight groups. Many of them made an attempt to stay serious and focused in preparation for whatever tests they would soon be put through. One group- by far the largest- did not.

Not appearing any older than him- or, rather, not looking like they were any older than his age, as he looked a bit young compared to some of his peers- they were obviously rookies. The size alone indicated they were local, as no foreign village would send such a large group of what appeared to be largely mediocre young Shinobi, and the Konohagakure headbands only confirmed. Evidently, they were taking advantage of the opportunity to get more experience and measure themselves against where they needed to be to succeed in their Shinobi careers. The fact that it increased the odds of Konoha having new Chuunin was a bonus he couldn't' fault the village for, especially not with his newfound appreciation of strategy. After all, brute force was unlikely to help him defeat a god of flesh when he was already strong enough to terrify mother.

One part of the group, however, did catch his attention. Just as energetic as their fellows, they seemed more prepared for what was going to happen. Or, at the very least, more aware of what they were getting themselves into.

The dark haired one was checking his equipment again and again, making sure every piece was easily accessible yet secure enough not to be lost. Next to him the pink one kept watch over all those around them, even her fellow Konoha Genin.

For a moment, he almost thought she was scared out of her mind but it was obvious she was trembling in anticipation from the way her eyes were taking in her future opponents.

The blonde girl, however, was the most interesting. With a pair of baggy pants littered with pockets and attritional pouches strapped to wherever she could manage to find room she was obviously taking preparation to a whole new level. A slim backpack covered in hard plating was open by her feet as she sorted through the scrolls she kept inside.

Having a puppeteer brother, he was familiar with the uses of scrolls though he rarely made use of them. If he had stuff to bring his siblings were the ones who were carrying it.

Like today.

But that wasn't important right now, what was important was the sheer volume of scrolls in the girls possession. An average Shinobi could make do pretty well with one, an exceptionally well prepared Shinobi carried two or three. Five was considered an arsenal.

This girl had at least a dozen.

Either she was really bad at packing or she was packing.

As the contents of one scroll was revealed to be massive stacks of explosive notes which she divvied up to her teammates he determined it was the latter.

He could not fathom anything that would need so many but it certainly begged the question- what were in those other scrolls? More notes? Different supplies in similar quantities?

It was this curiosity that kept him watching that particular group of three.

He was glad it did.

"Do you think He'll be here?" Asked the pink one to the only male of the group. He could practically hear the capitalization, and that spiked further interest.

The boy grunted but his eyes darted to the entrance, as if expecting the mere mention of Him to make Him appear. The similarities between those two and his siblings was astounding and his suspicions grew.

The blonde one, likewise, briefly glanced in that direction, but she quickly turned back to her scrolls seemingly unconcerned.

"I wouldn't be too surprised if Naruto-Nii somehow managed to enter the exams, but I don't know if they would let him without a team. He knows Jounin, yeah, but I don't think he knows enough Genin to get himself a team of his own."

The dark one snorted.

"With the way Kakashi-Sensei praises him, I would be surprised if they let him do this solo."

The name had confirmed the identity but the fact that one of the Jounin Sensei praised Him assured him his suspicions were correct. These three, somehow they knew the god he had encountered. Honestly, that should be obvious. The god lived here in Konoha, how could they not be aware of a divine being walking amongst them every day?

And they were right to be worried about his possible appearance, there was no way they could ever hope to stand against him.

The fact that he was a Genin, however, was strange.

Very strange.

Perhaps Konoha just wanted to be able to use him to destroy the competition.

Of course, that begged the question- where was he?

Was the blonde one right and he wasn't participating simply because he didn't have a team? That was absurd. If anyone should be part of these it was he, what did it matter if they give him two temporary teammates stolen from another team or two when he was a fucking god? These Genin were nothing compared to him, their situation was meaningless in the long run.

Perhaps Konoha was just going soft.

The girl looked back to the door. "Maybe." She muttered, just loud enough for him to be able to hear her. She sounded distinctly hopeful that he would be part of the exam but at the same time almost hesitant.

Not in such a way that pointed to her fearing him, but rather that she'd like him to be their but his presence would change something she felt important.

How odd.

That did not, however, change the fact that she had referred to the living god as Naruto-Nii. Either she felt close enough to him to call him her brother or they really were of the same blood.

It took him a moment to determine what the feeling was, but the thought of being part of an exam where he would go against that being's sister made him uneasy

He had been tempted for the briefest of moments to crush her immediately, before she had a chance to show she was a threat like her brother but what if she really was such a threat? Was he anywhere near strong enough to even attempt such an attack? He didn't know how she compared to her brother, not in the slightest, and he wasn't about to risk his existence- not when he realized it might also bring down his anger upon him.

He was uncertain when it came to the girl, but he knew for a fact her brother was far out of his league and that without adequate planning would not be taken down by one such as himself.

He hadn't even determined the true extent of his powers, let alone come up with a viable way to overcome them.

No, he'd hold off for now, there was far too much risk. Perhaps later, after he had seen her in action, he might reconsider, but for now she was off limits.

Not feeling generous but also not about to chance them unknowingly going against his wishes he turned to his siblings, his raspy voice barely more than a whisper.

"The blonde one," he said, terrifying them with the sudden breaking of his silence. "Is off limits. I will not anger him by harming his sister." As she was currently the only blonde, it was easy to identify who their brother was talking about.

She didn't look like much but the very thought of who their brother said she was related to had the color draining from their faces. Just being in his presence had been bad enough, but to actively anger him? Oh no, they weren't that stupid.

Swallowing nervously, the puppeteer nodded, his eyes not leaving the newly identified sister of the young man who had Shukaku terrified. The dead were only useful in one aspect of puppeteering and he had no intention of being anything less than the puppetmaster. "Understood."

His sister, while sharing the same thoughts, was a little more thorough in her response.

"And the team?" She asked. Her youngest brother looked thoughtful upon hearing her question, carefully pondering the decision. Admittedly, it was far more terrifying then when he was simply a raving, bloodthirsty killer. At least then it was as simple as don't piss him off and don't try to stop him if he's found another target.

Now, though, he was plotting, scheming, and she hadn't the faintest clue what was going on in his head.

That, she had come to realize, was much worse than knowing how much of a monster he was.

"Leave them be, for now." He decided. "Observe them carefully. If she proves not to be a direct threat then you are free to attack at your own discretion."

That was another thing they weren't used to. Since when had he allowed them any choice in anything? Previously it had been nothing more than following in the wake of his destruction as he led on unheeding of them or their needs. Now, however, he was giving them the freedom to make their own actions.

Neither wanted to think about what reasons he might have for that.

* * *

He sat by, not exactly close, but present.

He was Hatake fucking Kakashi, after all, and it wouldn't do well to perform in a way that would mar his image. Trying to get closer to the rookie Jounin Sensei and the Tokubetsu Jounin as they spoke with a Genin- no matter how much better he was than his peers- was not conductive to the image he liked to portray.

Still, he was close enough to observe them easily enough and his hearing was sharp enough that he didn't need to worry about missing any words spoken.

Not that he was spying on them or anything, and he definitely wasn't listening in on their conversation- any more than what was to be expected, anyway.

They were, after all, a strange group of three speaking within the Jounin lounge during the Chuunin exams in the presence of foreign representatives. There was also that little fact that only one of them was actually supposed to be here at all.

No one was going to try to kick out the other two though. Mainly because no one really cared and only further dissuaded by the fact that one of them was Mitarashi fucking Anko- one of the few others allowed to use the 'fucking' between her names- and she seemed quite close to the other.

If it bothered ay of the foreign Jounin they made no mention of it, knowing better than to do such in someone else's village. Not only was it likely to be ignored but they would probably be allowed to stay out of sheer spite.

Never should one underestimate the pettiness of Shinobi.

Kakashi was not a little surprised, then, when the Genin excused himself from the presence of the two attractive woman to sit by him. Fortunately, none of this surprise showed on his face. Thank the gods for half-masks.

"So you've let them into the exam already, you must be very proud of their progress." A little forwards, perhaps, but it also cut straight to the chase, for which Kakashi was appreciative. He had never been one for small talk.

"They do well enough." The man shrugged. "It would be a pity to deny them this opportunity."

The young redhead raised an inquiring brow.

"So you don't think they've made proper progress, then?"

Kakashi took a moment to think before giving a nod. "They've made very little progress for themselves, though two of them are able to make use of advantages they've been gifted. Only one of my students seems to have made much progress, and it's only because she doesn't share with them anything that would allow her to operate above the work she's put into training. Even then. The progress is still minimal. They aren't able to get much from my attempts at teaching and I'm not good at it in the first place. Were it not for their special abilities I'd be certain they would never go anywhere."

His new companion didn't seem to react any more than becoming thoughtful but those close enough to hear them did. Not because of what the son of the White Fang had said- though that was of substantial note- but due to the simple fact that Kakashi had spoken so much with minimal prompting.

Kakashi had always been a man of few words, and those words he did speak fit his nature perfectly. A thought out response was not what people had come to expect from him, and certainly not to a question that could have been answered so casually.

"If that's the case, I expect this could serve as a proper learning experience for them."

This time- aware of the attention they were receiving- Kakashi kept it short and simple, answering with a shrug and a quiet 'Maybe'.

The Genin didn't seem bothered at all be the shorter answer, settling in comfortably enough to wait for the screens to be properly set up. The Hokage's office was already prepared to allow him to watch over the proceedings, which had the added bonus of assuring proper recording devices had already been set up, but they had to wait on the less than tech-savvy Eternal Chuunin, as they were so often called.

Fortunately, in the case of anything going wrong, this would mean the Hokage would see things going on as they happened whereas they, the Jounin- or the group that was supposed to be composed exclusively of them, at any rate- who were watching would always be behind, playing a constant game of catch-up to watch the success- or failure- of those they had trained.

By the time they realized something was wrong the Hokage could have already responded to the issue and found a resolution. The past had proven this to be quite effective at stopping possible confrontations short.

With that in mind, one had to wonder if the two Chuunin in the room were taking so long on purpose or if the Hokage, knowing how bad they were, had placed them there just because it would serve to buy him time in a most natural of manners.

After all, there was little that could be considered more human than incompetence.

It was something quite a few people even seemed to excel at.

These two served as a prime example.

So much that it was actually a bit irritating, honestly .

Of course, he didn't have much time to dwell on that before they were joined by the sole Tokubetsu Jounin in the room, the woman squeezing up next to the young man like an over-affectionate pet greeting their owner after a long vacation.

It was quite strange but, then again, it was Anko.

He personally felt that pretty much summed up any necessary explanation and he certainly wasn't the only one.

He was, however, Hatake Motherfucking Kakashi, so that opinion registered as little more than a raised eyebrow at her antics. Normally he'd make some sort of comment but Naruto was involved and he didn't want to say anything that might in some way insult him – even indirectly- or give him a reason to dislike him.

He was rather fond of the boy, after all.

You didn't think he hid bodies for just anyone, did you?

Oddly enough, the purple-haired woman was rather subdued, seemingly content to just be snuggled- for there were few other words that could be used to accurately describe her current position, not that he would utter any of them- up to the young man.

There was that young one, what, a year ago? Two? It didn't really matter he supposed, the important thing was that his little brother seemed to be good with the ladies.

The other girl had been older, but this was an older Kunoichi.

He was so proud.

Turning back to check the progress of the Chuunin- they seemed farther behind than when he last checked- he couldn't help but notice Kurenai was back where the migrating group had started. She didn't seem all that happy to have been left behind, but she also seemed a bit hesitant to join in.

Not that it stopped her in the end.

With swift strides that hid her discomfort she positioned herself next to Anko. Far away from Kakashi, separated from Naruto, but still close enough to be a part of this new group.

It was rather odd, Kakashi would admit.

Unless, of course, his little brother was more of a ladies' man than he had ever expected.

Go Naruto!

* * *

She tried valiantly to ignore the stares, she had enough to worry about with the exam alone. She was definitely further along her training than most of her peers but never had her mother covered anything these questions were requiring from her. Kakashi, too, was not the kind of person to teach cryptology or any sort of physics beyond 'hit hard and they gt hit hard'.

Come to think of it, she really couldn't see someone like Kiba being taught this by Kurenai, either. Even Asuma didn't strike her as the type to cover something so specialized as to have its own division-one that never saw the light of day, either- or something that was more theoretical than any practical Shinobi would ever need.

Who cared what the exact amount was, so long as muscle memory allowed you to make the proper throw?

It didn't make any damn sense and the eyes constantly on her certainly weren't doing her any favors.

The worst part was it wasn't a single set of eyes, either. One set would look at her for a moment or two and then be replaced by another, over and over again. She had only managed to catch their gaze a few times each and the only constant seemed to be an anxious trepidation with a hint of suspicion, as if they somehow knew her or what she contained and were wary because of it.

But that was ridiculous, for none but a few knew the secret and she hadn't done anything- that she knew of, at least- to warrant such a reaction from anybody.

Of course, there was a distance in their eyes, as if they were looking at her but seeing someone else. But who could they be seeing? She looked nothing like her mother and the closest person to her looks that was infamous was the Yondaime Hokage, who was long dead.

She had visited Kaze no Kuni- where these Shinobi hailed from, judging by the Suna headbands- but back then she had been just a child trying to learn the way of the Kunoichi, nothing worth any real mention.

Now if Kakashi was to be believed, the only Genin of mention would be-

Naruto.

Could they know her brother somehow?

He was certainly off on missions often enough with that Tokubetsu Jounin that had taken a shine to him. Maybe he had met them during one of them? No, that didn't sound quite right. They didn't seem angry or resentful, nor did they seem to look at her in any way that would indicate them as being possible allies during the competition.

Obviously, her brother did not have a strong positive or negative impact on them, at least, not one large enough to transfer over to her. Considering how rare it was for two Shinobi to meet during a mission that did not in some way conflict she was pretty confident any interaction between them wouldn't have been in such a situation.

Of course, were that to be the case why would they be looking at her?

They could have met her brother in the days before the exam but what might he have done to leave an impression that had them looking at her with hesitant suspicion, as if they were trying to determine how much of a threat she was.

She'd like to believe they just thought she was more capable than some of the competition- and they weren't exactly wrong considering that she had training her comrades didn't- but two of them were older and all three came across has having a surplus of field experience.

She could also swear the younger one with short hair the same color as her brother's had an odor of dried blood and dust that permeated the air around him with its muted metallic tang.

She doubted very much that it was from an injury he had sustained for he didn't have so much as a scratch on him from what she could see, even his hands were without the callouses shared by his teammates.

Not a physical fighter then, and certainly one skilled enough to avoid those who were. There was also far less fear- no, wariness- in his questioning gaze, instead a puzzled calculation that tried to figure everything out about her it possibly could.

And if all else didn't point to their looks being sent because of another there was still the way their eyes seemed drawn to her right arm, searching the skin for something that wasn't there.

Has her brother not covered his arm in bandages? Were they not present both when she returned to Konoha and when they had met for a spar that went so horribly wrong? An injury was possible, but many should have been healed pretty easily in that time frame at the Konoha hospital.

They also didn't strike her as the type dumb enough to believe whatever injury he carried there would be present on his sister's flesh. That meant that if it was a scar it was a very specific - and undoubtedly deliberate – symbol that was easy to recognize. More than likely it was a tattoo or he had experimented with seals- something rather dangerous- and placed one upon himself.

If it was the latter case he was either a damn prodigy, very lucky, or both, considering Konoha's only seal master had been busy trying to stabilize his spy network after the Kyuubi attack all those years ago.

Mito- Kyuubi, she reminded herself – really had made quite a lot of trouble for them, almost more than she felt a Jinchuriki was worth.

Regardless, the fact that they kept looking despite her arm quite plainly being completely bare was a bit strange. Did they honestly expect some sort of symbol to just appear on her arm while they were looking at her? Actually, The Uchiha clan was famous for spitting miniature suns at people and the Akimichi could turn themselves into giants rivaling the Biju in size. Perhaps mysteriously appearing symbols on her arm wasn't such a strange expectation.

And she also couldn't dismiss the possibility that these three held something close to Kakashi's opinion on her brother, in that he immediately surpassed all expectations one could ever set before him.

She wanted to resent him for it sometimes, but excluding one spar she hadn't really interacted with him.

The chance, too, that Kakashi was just using it to annoy them was also too high for her to risk forming any opinion or making any plans based on his words.

A particularly loud scrape of a pencil brought her out of her thoughts and made her keenly aware of the remaining time or, more specifically, the lack of it.

With hurried strokes of her pencil she half-assed decoding the message before writing 'If you need to calculate how hard to throw it you shouldn't be in the field.' Under the picture of a Shinobi in a tree.

It would have to do as with a bellow their examiner called for the writing to stop.

Hopefully what she did would be enough, it would be rather pathetic for her plans to both aid and get closer to her brother were ended by one lousy paper test.

Then again, that's exactly the kind of thing Kakashi would sign them up for.

Sadistic bastard.

* * *

Said Sadistic bastard was suddenly, for reasons he did not know, filled with the content feeling of a job well done. But that was absolutely ridiculous, he hadn't actually worked in quite some time now. No, all he did these days were watch over the Mini Ninjas and call it training. It was far too cushy- and often amusing- to be called work.

Hs attention was quickly pulled from the brief, unexplainable, feeling when his red-haired companion spoke.

"Hey, Anko, don't you have Genin to torment right about now?"

She looked like she might stay where she was, practically fused to his side, but eventually the idea of scaring the piss from a room full of brats won over.

With a noticeable pout she broke away from him and jumped from the nearest window, most of the room shaking their heads at her.

Everyone knew that Shinobi _entered_ through windows and _left_ through the front door.

Usually because by then there was no one in the building to stop them.


	51. The Snake Draws Near

**I took a look at my profile to see when I had last updated this and apparently it's been far longer than I had realized.**

 **My apologies for the delay.**

 **I'm starting to have a bit more free time now, so hopefully I can find myself back on my old updating schedule or at least post every other week.**

 **I've been receiving your reviews and am quite grateful for them but have not yet had a chance to sit down and respond to them. Posting this before doing so is just going to increase the workload but I will get to them all- eventually.**

 **Hopefully before too many more updates are posted.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to Ncpfan for all his help.**

 **Let's begin, yeah?**

* * *

They had split as soon as they had left the sight of the villagers, squad after squad breaking away from what had started as an impressive army until there remained not one single trace of the forces of Nami no Kuni. Parading down the open streets might have been good for patriotage but it was not good when you were planning to move an army into the lands of Hi no Kuni to aid it against an army that the people of fire didn't even know about.

Of course, that's not to say they did this in total secrecy. No, that was a bad idea, one that had far too high a risk of going terribly, horribly wrong.

The last thing they aimed for was starting a war in the process of preventing one. That would be completely unproductive of them and a rather sad waste of resources on their part.

That said, only a handful of people needed to be in the know for it to not be a secret. The most important of those would be, without a doubt, the ruler whose lands they were entering.

How their lord managed to gain sanction for these actions from the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni many had no idea, even fewer could understand how that had gone even farther and allowed Orochimaru of the Sannin to be leading that army.

If nothing else, it reminded everyone there not to underestimate the lord of Wolves.

How strange it was that of all these men and women ready to go to war on the orders of one man only some of them had ever actually seen him-

And even fewer his face.

Then again, it was not their place to question.

Even the forces of the snake, curious as they may be about the man who was working with their master, knew better then to voice any questions lest they be seen as dissenters, for if there was one thing clear it was that the Sage of Snakes was completely dedicated to the man who ruled over his pack from afar like the moon shinning down upon the midnight hunt.

It was like moonbeams through the canopy that they had scattered, off to the places they would sit in wait for what was likely going to be an entire month. They could move later, of course, but that would risk being too late to stop the invasion of Konoha from succeeding. They weren't about to try intercepting the army, that would be foolish, but if the army was to pass them by unknowingly it would open them to an attack from the rear, something that could cripple their attempts and leave whatever Shinobi smart enough to break away easy pickings for the Wolves.

That is to say, easy pickings for them.

If their lord had things his way- and they were determined to make it so- not a single Shinobi foolish enough to attack Konoha would be left alive. Why did he need survivors to pass on the message when the silence of the dead spoke so loudly?

Only one small group would actually be proceeding into Konoha proper, a guard that was to follow Orochimaru of the Sanin as they infiltrated the village they had left behind so many years ago.

Not that they had actually been instructed to do so. No, their task was to accompany Orochimaru as they led Tsukiyomi's army into Hi no Kuni to both defend their lord's territory and place themselves in a favorable position with the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni.

If the snake Sannin wanted to go into Konoha, however, who were they to stop them? Naturally, it had nothing to do with the fact that it would bring more Wolves into closer proximity of their lord in case something were to happen or that they knew the Sannin wouldn't hesitate to aid Tsukiyomi.

Nothing at all.

* * *

Rather than watching the video feed- that was just now beginning to show at the beginning despite the actual exam being minutes away from its conclusion- Naruto excused himself soon after Anko left to perform her duties as the second examiner.

Some may have made the assumption that because she had been the one to bring him than without her he felt himself unwelcome amongst the various Jounin- he didn't mind that at all, it kept more people from questioning it more that he wanted his actions scrutinized.

Discarding rules was nothing new to him, neither was performing obviously illegal operations, but this was quite a bit farther than he had dared go before and even with the backing of the Fire Daimyo- who was surprisingly accommodating and understanding about the situation- he couldn't help but worry about what was to come.

Not for himself, certainly, but for his children, for it was they who were placing themselves in danger upon his commend.

Were he to be honest, they probably would have been placing themselves in danger anyway. If not to protect him- which, really, was the most likely reasons for them to endanger themselves regardless of his wishes- then because they would be trying to prove- to themselves, perhaps- that they had a purpose.

They had not enjoyed playing the parts of indefinite sleeper agents who would likely never be called upon to do what they had been trained to. It had been quite fortunate that he had been the one to stumble upon them and it was a good thing he didn't like to let things go to waste, either.

And now the very force he had returned them to had grown and was currently on the move to participate in a battle that could be reasonably expected to start a war, a war that could easily spread across the entire world depending on how things went and how the other countries reacted to it.

It should come with little surprise that he was a bit stressed about the coming month.

That said, there was little more to do at the moment but wait. He really needed something to take his mind off of everything.

Not for the first time, Naruto was reminded that he really needed a hobby.

* * *

Konoha was just as lax in security as she had remembered, then again they may have been ANBU but she was one of the legendary Sannin.

It also helped that with a simple wolf mask and a guard of similarly dressed escorts it was really, really easy to just walk in the front gates without being questioned.

Well, openly, at least.

One of the guards had stayed back to provide credentials for the group, as was procedure, but for the sake of image Konoha wasn't about to detain the entire group of Wolves when the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni had accepted them and given their leader noble status among his court.

It was known well enough by the populace of Konoha and the surrounding countries and the likelihood of still other countries knowing was high. Too many questions would arise should they be seen stopping the group after the Daimyo himself had granted them access to the village.

The Wolves were accommodating enough, however, to cooperate in this manner to ensure Konoha was more at ease. The fact that it slightly decreased the amount of Shinobi who watched their movements throughout the village had nothing to do with their little arrangement.

Nope, nothing at all.

Okay, maybe a little.

It was just easier for everyone this way.

Not that Orochimaru found herself particularly caring how they got in so long as they had gotten in. Naruto was here and that was the important part, because now she was here, in the same village as him, separated not by countries but by mere blocks- though there could be dozens of them between them at any given moment, she really didn't dwell on that fact.- that she could traverse openly.

Or, as openly as a woman in a mask, at any rate.

Of course, she was also finding that the decreased distance was making things far more difficult for her. She was so close, damnit, but she still couldn't see him.

Well, she could, but she was sensible enough to know that she wasn't exactly a welcome presence in this village- even if she was now a woman and logically no one should believe her to be the traitorous sage from all those years ago. Unfortunately, she had always had some feminine traits to her appearance. Not a lot, but certainly enough to make people overlook her breasts long enough to identify her and cause a ruckus- and getting caught would affect more than just herself and her plans.

It would impact Naruto and _his_ plans, and that was unacceptable to the snake summoner. Both of them, really, not that either of them knew that.

Sadly, only one of them would actually appreciate how similar the student was to the teacher in that aspect.

Considering her loathing for him- her, now- it certainly wasn't the student.

The student, however, was free to spend time with Naruto, Orochimaru's precious godson. It was probably a good thing Orochimaru didn't know about that, actually, not until she had actually had a chance to meet him in person first.

After that everyone else was free to crowd around and shower him with the attention and affection he rightly deserved as her crimson prince.

That would have to wait for now, unfortunately, as work came before pleasure- especially when Naruto shouldn't have been aware that she had made her way inside the village proper- though she would not have been surprised in the slightest if one of her escorts had sent word ahead.

Hell, if that was the case she whole-heartedly approved.

Though, it did reinforce the fact that she needed to take care of her personal goals as quickly as possible. She wasn't too worried that he might not like what she was doing, but at the same time it was better not to risk it. There was also that bit in which should she meet with him she probably wouldn't be able to pull herself away to do what she needed to, and such a shame that waste would be.

She had an amazing opportunity, after all, a chance at the tool that could see her dreams become reality.

The Sharingan, the ultimate tool for learning the Shinobi techniques she had dedicated- and extended- her life to knowing. Immortality, some did not realize, was merely a means to an end for her. She didn't care for eternal life nearly as much as what she could use that life towards and not anywhere close to how much she cared for her beloved godson.

So, the sooner she became an immortal possessor of the Sharingan the sooner she could dedicate herself in her entirety to his care.

If she was really fortunate, she might get a whole pair of Sharingan and be able to persuade Naruto into taking both a powerful Dōjutsu and whatever immortality she manages to perfect. Then they could live forever, mastering techniques until the world looked up to them and saw only divinity unsurpassed.

Not that the Wolves needed any more convincing in Naruto's case.

Words really couldn't describe how proud she was of what he had managed to accomplish.

Still, she would have time aplenty to praise him and all he had done over the last few years when her work was done. For now, she had an exam to crash and an Uchiha to hunt.

A shiver of excitement ran down her spine.

Oh, she was going to enjoy this.

* * *

The first drink was enough to calm his nerves and the second served only to provide him with something to occupy himself with as he allowed his thoughts to wash over him like an ocean.

It wasn't like him to be this nervous about anything, he had never had such a problem before.

One might also note he had never really made plans like this before, either. Most of his work over the past few years had been in the heat of the moment, taking advantage of opportunities he was fortunate enough to be presented with.

Now, however, he had plots, plans that were to be coming into fruition soon.

Plots that he had time to ponder the consequences of.

He would be the first to admit he was nervous, but he was also quite confident that his Wolves would never ask such a thing.

And that was the source of it all, the Wolves- his Wolves.

He was their leader, their guide, their father, and it was his duty to so what was best for them.

It was a role he was happy to preform, a purpose he was happy to fulfill.

Knowing that, the nervousness was more than worth it- a small sacrifice to ensure his children were taken care of.

Children.

It was such an odd thought but he found that he rather liked the notion that he was a father of so many, that they all looked up to him for guidance and would take his words to heart without hesitation.

For a long time now they were, he knew, his family.

And there was nothing more important to an Uzumaki than their family.

* * *

It came without warning- but it didn't.

There were signs, both subtle and obvious, but they had all been overlooked.

The brief skittering of panicked animals was to be expected in such a situation, the resulting silence- unnatural, were he to think back on it- garnished no attention as they kept focused only at the task at hand.

That had been a mistake, they knew the forest was dangerous- the crazy examiner had said as much- but even if they hadn't realized just how dangerous it would be during their visit they should have kept more alert.

Such a mistake could have easily lost them their lives, as it was it had nearly cost them victory.

The world, it would seem, had been merciful this day, but that was not to say she had not punished them in other ways.

The crash of a serpent, a streak of pale flesh, haunting yellow eyes that burned into your soul and a venomous bite that vanished in a swirl of long black hair.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun.

" _You're mine, Sasuke-Kun." The voice had whispered softly. "And if you behave, perhaps I'll grant you more gifts like this one."_

His strength vanished with her passing, as if she had taken it with her, and he rushed to obey gravity.

Consciousness had abandoned him before he finished.

"Sasuke-Kun!"

There was pain.

And then nothing.

* * *

The tree was almost too convenient, likely having been used by countless others in this exact same situation- or, at least, situations close enough to their own- over the years, but neither of them felt like arguing with fortune that seemed to be improving in their favor.

This, if nothing else, might go right.

And to think, the exam had only just started. Room for improvement, she supposed, but also plenty of time for things to get much, much worse.

The Uchiha had been a great deterrent and while he wasn't the strongest- that was her position, thank you- he was still a huge tactical advantage, especially when with him incapacitated more teams would be confident enough to take them on.

Everyone knew that the Uchiha were fearsome but it was a far fewer number that was aware that the Uzumaki were traditionally superior- something that had carried over to their team exactly so.

And as strong as she was, she was not so foolish to believe she could take on a team of more experienced Gennin on her own. At least, not without help.

Briefly, eyes darted to the flash of pink that had settled down by their downed teammate and taken it upon herself his care.

Not that she blamed the girl. They both- well, the three and their Sensei, really- knew that the civilian-born girl was not suited to combat or survival situations such as the one they now found themselves in and she did her best work as a supporting role. Now, however, that's not what they needed.

The Uchiha- Sasuke- was stable enough, but that said nothing for when he would be awake again, let alone able to continue on. Even then, there was a difference between being able to continue on and being able to help the group.

It was a very distinct possibility that the boy was going to be a hindrance to the group, a rather costly liability. Unfortunately, there was no hope for the other two if he was unable to make it, as the exam was team-based. Their chances hung almost completely upon their teammate waking up and being well enough not to drag the entire team down.

Victory, perhaps, wasn't the biggest concern at the moment, actually. They could always try again when there was less of a chance of interference from, well whoever that had been. Certainly not a Genin, that was for damn sure.

For now, survival was the primary objective. Promotion simply wasn't worth the risk of getting killed by a more vicious team or because they made a mistake and were punished for it by the forest they were currently trapped in.

Hell, at this point she was strongly considering hunkering down and waiting for the exam to end. Gods above knew she had more than enough provisions for that. In fact, she probably had enough provisions to feed every team within the forest for the entire duration of the exam and then some- and that was including Chouji's infamous appetite.

Then again, the giant cave created by a massive tree was, perhaps, not the most hidden of locations. Defensible, yes, but the idea was to keep away from combat until they were in a better position. Sitting there waiting for inevitable fights were not within their best interest at the moment. luckily, convincing her fellow Kunoichi of that shouldn't be too hard.

The girl already knew she was out of her league in this situation and it would only take a single hint about the danger her precious Uchiha was in to get her to cave in and follow her lead.

Naruko might have felt bad about that if it wasn't to ensure their survival.

* * *

Panting and trembling- a mixture of rage and exhaustion, no doubt- her former apprentice glared loathfully at her in a manner that warmed her heart.

Scratches and cuts adorned the purple-haired secondary summoner and the Snake sage had the feeling there would be plenty of bruises to go with them by evening.

The woman was going to wake up sore tomorrow, that was for certain.

Well, if she was allowed to wake up at all, really.

It would be easy to end her now, she was still no match for the woman who had trained her- well, she had been a man during the training, but it was the same person, at least- and to be honest very few were. You don't become legendary for nothing, after all.

She had actually- as a he- become famous for losing to one of the most fearsome Shinobi of modern times, Hanzo, but the fact that she had survived a battle against him, even with two allies, was a testament to their skill and power.

The real question was did she really want to kill her old apprentice?

It wasn't out of any sentimentality or bond that she paused long enough to contemplate this, but more because it seemed like such a waste. At the same time, however, her former apprentice had the potential to become a thorn in her side eventually and that's not something she wanted, not when she was so close from being able to devote all her time to her crimson prince.

The decision was taken from her hands with a face in the distance- a very distinct face.

A white Wolf snarled back at her.

It hadn't been part of her escort, for they had all been dismissed and were no doubt reporting to her prince at this very moment, and that meant it was either here for the exams in general or to watch over the examiner in specific.

The shaking of their head indicated the latter, which meant her former apprentice was- in some way, perhaps even one unknown to her- associated with Naruto.

And if that was the case she wasn't going to try interfering, not when it risked upsetting him in any way.

"Oh, pity, looks like you've made some friends. We can't play anymore, it would seem, but it was good to see you again Anko-Chan."

And with that she slipped back into the forest, leaving the Wolf to ensure the Tokubetsu Jounin was okay.

Idly, she wondered if her old apprentice had even realized that she was now female.

* * *

He didn't need to turn around to know of their presence or feel their own nervousness, something that didn't do his own nerves any favors. Silently he drained another drink, focusing on the burn as it trailed down his throat.

That would be his last for the day, he couldn't risk doing anything more than boosting his confidence enough to clear away the unease he felt.

"Report." It was short and clipped, an order that was to be carried out without question.

Not that they would ever question him.

He couldn't decide if that was actually a good thing.

"The army moves, Lord Tsukiyomi, and will be in place to turn the tides against Suna." The one who spoke was kneeling- they all were, really- and did not so much as lift his head without permission. It was the difference between those who had been given a task and those who were simply found near one of the dens.

Idly, he recognized it as part of their Root training, Danzou's attempt to take the average Shinobi's ability to transition between relaxed and combat states taken to the extreme in hopes of making living weapons.

Their personalities had prevented the conditioning from being successful, so instead it had simply enhanced an ability most experienced Shinobi already had.

Not a bad thing, by any means, but yet another reminder that his children were set apart from the rest.

They were better, yes, but they had their own flaws.

Danzou's failure, however, had helped smooth them down. When it came to Shinobi, they didn't get much better than what Danzou had accidentally created- that which Danzou had not seen the true value of.

Naruto found himself once again grateful towards the man and briefly wondered what his reaction would be if he were to call him 'Uncle'. It would be amusing to see, if nothing else.

"Good, good." His voice reflected nothing of the turbulent trouble of his thoughts , rolling between odd wonderings and incessant worrying. He would need to get ahold of himself and soon, there was no way he could spend a month like this.

He supposed he might be more at ease during the break between exams, as then he'd have more information to mull over. He could make plans and contingencies with hard information. Speculation as to the results of the first, most critical parts of the exam? Not so much, unfortunately.

The fact that he could practically feel his subordinate's own unease, however, did little to provide assurance that the month would pass easily.

With a barely audible sigh- though one he was certain his Wolves had been able to hear- he asked; "What happened?"

It was a little less accusatory than something like "What did you do wrong?" but the idea was much the same. He knew something was up and had deduced that it wasn't favorable. His Wolves, despite any nervousness, loyally answered.

"It's Orochimaru-Sama, Tsukiyomi-Sama," It was the same one to speak, as was often the case when they were performing their duties. One was always chosen- or perhaps lost the draw, he wasn't too sure – to act as the voice for the gathering of Wolves. Be it three, three dozen, or every Wolf under his command- come to think of it, he didn't actually know those exact numbers. He needed to look through Sai's latest reports soon, at least that was somewhat productive- when they were following his orders only one would speak.

In a small group like this it wasn't much, but when he was meeting with larger gatherings in Nami it was undeniably strange for the amassed Wolves to be perfectly silent save one. In fact, if he wasn't so used to the Wolves and their mannerisms it could have been rather off-putting.

It was a good thing this was only done as Wolves, as if it had carried over to their daily lives they could never have blended into Konoha as sleeper agents in any capacity.

The Wolf continued, completely oblivious to the musings of his master.

"They would not remain with the Great Pack-" Or, in other words, the army he had obtained. "and instead came here within Konoha's walls. We don't know what they're planning but they ran off soon after arriving."

Naruto pondered it for a moment before giving a soft hum.

"I see. And how did Orochimaru-Dono enter Konoha?" The feeling of unease grew and for a moment he had the mental image of naughty, chibi-Wolf children who had been caught trying to sneak sweets before dinner. It was a rather amusing thought.

"We, uh, dressed them as a Wolf, Tsukiyomi-Sama."

Naruto gave a quiet snort.

"Quite apt, I'd say."

"Tsukiyomi-Sama?" The Wolf questioned, not following. His fellows were similarly curious but held their tongues well.

"It's only appropriate that they be dressed as a Wolf." He explained, still not turning to look at those that had gathered in the room with him. "For they have been released amongst the sheep."

The calm manner in which he said such was the complete opposite of his nerves. That's just what he needed, Orochimaru doing who-knows what in the village when he was trying to have the Wolves lay low to avoid scaring off Suna too soon.

"Split up, find them, and keep careful watch." He ordered. "If at all possible try herding the Snake Sage back here or to the den, I don't want them out and about when we have an army hiding throughout Hi no Kuni."

"As you command, Tsukiyomi-Sama." Even without turning he knew the kneeling Wolf pressed closer to the wooden floor before turning and hurrying away, eager to fulfill his wishes to make up for having brought and loosed the snake summoner upon Konoha.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Naruto sighed before heading for his desk. Might as well go through the reports, at least they might be able to distract him for a few hours.

* * *

"This is a bad idea." His voice was like churning gravel, showing his distaste with the situation. To be fair, it wasn't too different from his regular voice.

Still, she resolutely ignored his comment, focusing instead on the figure slowly putting distance between himself and them. The bad idea mentioned could very well be the fact that he was going off alone or a reminder that should the most influential clan of his destination discover his secret they would face even more problems than they currently did. Neither of those reasons- though they were quite true and she whole-heartedly agreed- were the cause of her current company's displeasure.

"Do you have any better ideas, Zabuza?" She asked, not yet turning to face the rouge Kiri Shinobi. Technically, they were all rouge, he was just one of the few the world noted for it.

"Yeah," He grunted. "Just about anything else. I keep telling you, no good is going to come from reaching out to them."

"We don't exactly have much of a choice. You know this."

His snort was sharp and short. It also sounded distinctly unamused.

"I do, and if they don't already they will soon enough. That's the last thing we want."

"They helped Wave, why not us?" She had yet to turn around, knowing that her hands would immediately find her hips in a most un-leader like fashion. She was supposed to represent her forces and be an example for them and so she would refrain from making this argument, one they had many times previously, seem like any more of an argument than it absolutely had to be.

Her voice, however, had no such qualms and Zabuza could practically hear the hands resting on her hips.

"They took over Wave." Was his counter. He had used it several times before and he was sticking with it. The statement alone quite nicely summed up a lot of the issues this plan had. Nevertheless, he added a bit more so she wouldn't try attacking the fact that he had brought it up once more. "Either they live up to their namesake or someone saw them and named aptly. Either way they will tear us apart in our weakened state and take everything for themselves. It's what they do."

He shook his head, wishing she'd listen and spare them all the trouble that would follow with those she sought.

"They are Wolves, and they will devour everything they can."

Her arms, already loosely crossed over her sizable bust, tightened in agitation.

"Then they can devour Yagura, and when they have filled themselves on him we will send them back to their den."

He gave a sigh but didn't argue, there was no point.

She didn't seem to want to believe that if they killed Yagura then this would become their den, yet another place completely under their control. Nami no Kuni was already theirs and they had found the support of Hi no Kuni if rumors were to be believed.

Knowing that, there was little doubt their touch reached into Konoha, Hi no Kuni's Shinobi village.

Zabuza had to wonder how much of the world they would actually manage to acquire-

And how much of it he would see come to pass in his lifetime.


	52. Godmother

**I can't believe it's been another month already, time is just flying past lately. But, however long it might be overdue, the next act is finally here.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for going over my work.**

 **I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

The only sounds in the room were the slow shuffling of papers interrupted by the scratching of a pen and the constant buffeting of a slowly-turning fan. Sunset was far enough yet that you could still call it late afternoon rather than evening but a combination of nearby buildings and the distant walls of the village was enough to dim the light to a warmer, if slightly more dull, light that poured through his window.

It wasn't the den, where his primary office was, but lately he had taken to doing more of his work in his apartment. The atmosphere here was far more relaxed and while it may not be more secure he still found himself more comfortable siting at a desk in the spare bedroom. The apartment hadn't originally possessed a spare bedroom but that's really what he got for having left some of the Wolves here while he was about managing the start of Nami no Kuni and going on missions with Anko.

They had, in his absence, decided that they would go ahead and move around some of the walls.

The landlady had been less than pleased. Fortunately a bit of money- enough to buy a rather large house on a decent piece of land- and the new standing of Hi no Kuni's House of Wolves was enough to remedy the issue.

It had the additional effect of him owning the complex, so long as the rent from all other tenants went to her. Not the best deal, as things were currently, but it did mean that if he ever needed more space he could just knock down some more walls and the lack of apartments for more tenants would lead to the landlady- manager at this point, really- receiving less rent.

Luckily for her he had no intentions of doing any remodeling anytime soon and had been very careful to avoid mentioning any of the details of that particular deal to the other Wolves.

Last thing they needed was to know they could get away with it.

Pulling his thoughts from his new office, he instead focused on the papers before him. Sai had been diligent in his reports, as had Mai, and he had been less than so in actually reading them.

Considering some of the comments that had been left hidden within them, the two were well aware and were just waiting for him to eventually stumble upon them.

Jotting down more notes about the contents of the reports- half of said notes being reminders of his subordinates little 'surprises' so he could make sure to respond- he was vaguely aware that his front door was being opened.

From the corner of the room the single Wolf that had been standing guard in his presence- the others in the rest of the apartment or patrolling the perimeter- moved to the door, cracking it open enough to confirm the identities of the recent entrants.

Naruto himself was a bit more interested in pondering what possible reasons Sai might have had to randomly insert a ten verse piece of poetry about how much his night patrols whined about being caught in the rain.

It was pretty good, surprisingly, but why he didn't just include it as a separate document he didn't know.

Finishing with the actual relevant parts of the report on that page he set it to the side to keep. It would be a shame for all of his hard work to go to waste. With no small amount of amusement Naruto could picture Sai sitting at his desk, half asleep, as he idly doodled and came up with poetry, his head never rising from a propped position atop a closed fist.

Of course, the second one of the other Wolves- or Wave's Governor Hana- entered the room Sai would snap to a more dignified position to look as if he was actually working on something.

The fact that only half of Sais reports had anything of value in them wasn't because Sai was bad at them, Naruto suspected, but rather because his commander was trying to waste as much time as he could with the task. The nonessential parts primarily being towards the end of the reports supported such a conclusion.

And once again his mind was wondering.

Still, it was better than worrying about all the things that could go wrong with trying to stop an invasion force using the army of another foreign country that wouldn't be able to tell your intentions at first glance.

The chances of them being mistaken for aggressors was far too high for his liking.

They could always inform the Hokage, of course, in an effort to lower those chances, but even then there were only so many who could be informed. All it would take is one person overhearing something or witnessing preparations and the entire village could know by the next day. Even if it didn't, enough Shinobi acting in a hostile manner to shinobi from what was supposed to be an allied village would both tip Suna off and set a bad impression for any possible clients that witness such.

Some might argue that scaring Suna off would accomplish the task well enough, but they weren't looking at the big picture. Not only would a failed attempt by Suna make it easier to make the terms of the alliance even more heavily in their favor- and perhaps even give Konoha complete control over Suna- but it would remind the rest of the world that when Konoha fought it always won, without exception.

There was yet to be a Shinobi war in which they did not come out on top and if Naruto had anything to say about it that wasn't going to be changing any time soon.

An invasion wasn't a Shinobi World War, but it was a situation in which Konoha was supposed to be at a disadvantage. Emerging victorious would dissuade the others from trying to start something for a good few years, at least.

That should prove plenty of time for him to solidify his powerbase to better dissuade any would-be aggressors in the future. At least any who weren't terribly desperate or exceedingly loathfully of he and his children.

Didn't sound like much, but if he could put a halt to any opportunists before they had a chance to try anything than that was good enough for him.

And he was back to thinking about the invasion.

With a long sigh he shook his head and turned his attention, once more, to the pile of reports. Sais' would get out of the way first, both because they made up the majority of the workload with his generous…additions… and because those very additions allowed for frequent breaks from his work.

Mai's reports would take more of his attention and there would be few opportunities to pause throughout them without feeling he was putting off his responsibilities. The fact that there was less to go through also helped. If he could get the greater portion finished the rest wouldn't seem nearly as daunting.

Another page went into the basket of read reports, ready to be destroyed, as he selected the next piece. At this rate he might finish not long after dinner.

If he had no distractions, of course, and judging by the sharp rap of knuckles on his door that was not to be.

"Enter." He spared only a brief look at the Wolf who entered before returning to his work, the sounds of his pen scratching over paper once more filling the room.

When the Wolf had made no attempt to speak after several minutes he found himself looking up from Sai's latest attempt at poetry- this one actually managed to convey relevant details for the report, he was slightly impressed- to gaze at the silent operative.

"What is it?" Addressing them directly was usually enough to get them started when they didn't want to disturb him, but this one just seemed to become a bit nervous.

Still, he waited patiently for his child to gather their thoughts and scrounge up whatever courage was necessary to speak. He liked to imagine that he treated his Wolves- for the most part- as his father would have treated him.

"They've returned, Tsukiyomi-Sama." Came the eventual response, earning from him a raised eyebrow.

"Who has?" He had a suspicion, of course, but it was better to make certain.

"Orochimaru-Dono, my lord." The Wolf still seemed slightly troubled by the answer, though for what possible reason that may be escaped him.

"Good, they found him then?"

"Ah, no, Tsukiyomi-Sama." It wasn't nervousness, he decided, but rather some sort of shame. "Orochimaru-Dono located a patrolling Wolf and had them guide the way."

Shame confirmed, though why they thought they had failed him he didn't know. This was, after all, exactly what he wanted.

"Is that so?" He posed the question to no one in particular and wasn't surprised when the Wolf stayed silent. Due to recognizing it really wasn't a question or not wanting to answer only the operative would ever be able to say. "Does their search party know?"

"No, my lord, you are the first to be informed."

"Let's keep it that way, yeah?" His eyes returned to his papers, determined to get through at least a few more in what time he had before his meeting with his godfather. That, he knew, had the potential to eat up most of his time. He couldn't actually say that would be unwelcome. He had until the end of the second exam to fill and even he didn't have that much paperwork. Thank the gods he had Mai and her brother to lessen his workload so. "We'll wait for them to complete their task and locate our esteemed"- 'Uninvited' was left unsaid, but they were not unwelcome- "Guest. I wonder what their thoughts will be when they find him here with me…"

It was obvious enough to the Wolf that this was, in some small way, a punishment. Searching for Orochimaru for the next couple days- even nonstop- wasn't too bad after all their training but the desperation of trying to locate their target as soon as possible lest they further disappoint Tsukiyomi-Sama would certainly weigh on them the entire time.

To find them here, however, in their lord's presence, would be horrible. Not only would they have the shame of having been unable to complete their task but it would have been done without them. For a group that had jumped at the chance of giving their lives purpose by serving Naruto there was little worse than the feeling that you weren't actually needed. The disappointment- imagined or otherwise- that might be felt by their lord would only serve to make them feel worse.

It was, in the opinion of the Wolf who had relayed this news, a fitting punishment and a lesson that would be well remembered. Not that he should be surprised; it had been his lord who came up with the idea.

"Understood, Naruto-Sama. It will be done. "The Wolf gave a hasty half-bow, a more elegant equivalent of their salute more suited to those in the Daimyo's palace than Naruto's office. Then again, Naruto was a Daimyo now, so perhaps it was fitting. "What of Orochimaru? Shall I have them given room in the Den?"

He glanced up from his work only long enough to shake his head.

"No, send them in. They obviously couldn't wait any longer to meet with me." Instructed the young man. "And have one of the other guards prepare tea for my guest and I, this will likely be a long meeting."

"Of course, by your command." Another half-bow and the Wolf left the room, moving with far more purpose than they had entered. Learning they were not in trouble had evidently put them more at ease.

One more page made it into his finished pile by the time the door opened again, admitting the guest he had not expected until he had heard of their arrival earlier that day.

He looked up, opened his mouth to greet them, paused, and fell silent. Blinking twice, one brow rose as he leaned back into his chair, work forgotten.

She- for there was no denying the gender of the person at the door- seemed quite amused by this.

"You know," He started after a few more seconds of silence had died. "Everything I know about you has led me to the belief that you were male, godfather. It would seem I was sorely mistaken."

Her laugh was far too melodious than that of an S-rank rouge Shinobi for a penchant for human experiments had any right to be. Still, he found he quite liked it.

"It's a rather recent change, actually." Orochimaru skipped the chairs at the front of his desk- he wasn't sure if anyone had ever sat in them, considering his Wolves either knelt or remained standing- and sat directly on the desk itself, careful to avoid the papers scattered atop its surface. "This body had a trait I was interested in acquiring and it's a package deal, you see."

If Naruto was at all phased by what she said- which he wasn't, thank you- he did nothing to show it. Instead, he continued as if stealing bodies was an everyday thing.

"And what trait did you get from this package?"

Of course, accepting her deeds so easily- even if she already thought they were pretty similar- was only going to further endear him to her. Flashing him a quick smile she proceeded to demonstrate the increased functionality on her tongue.

He thought he managed to hide his surprise quite well, considering.

Raising a brow he made the entirely truthful comment; "Well, I'm sure I'm not the only one who won't be expecting that."

She grinned at him again.

"A good trade for some time spent as a woman, no?" She asked.

His eyes swept over her for a moment before shrugging. "There are certainly worse bodies you could have been stuck in."

"Oh?" Her own brow rose in response. "Is my little prince saying he's attracted to his godmother? How naughty, Naruto-Kun." She teased.

Had he not spent so much time with Anko he may have blushed at that. Considering he and the Tokubetsu Jounin shared a bed pretty commonly and she loved to tease him, however, he was quite used to it.

"If nothing else, I can admit you have good taste in women." He countered, not really denying it at all. "Though when a man's after a woman's body one usually doesn't expect such a result."

Another disturbingly pleasant laugh escaped her lips as she reached out to ruffle his hair fondly. She took her time removing her fingers from the strands of red, stretching it out as long as possible in a way that indicated she'd like to have been simply running her fingers through his hair instead.

Whether she refrained due to her position on his desk- one that forced her to lean a bit forward to reach his head- or because this was their first meeting he did not know. He didn't suspect it really mattered at this point, though, they would be around each other for the next week, easily, and very possibly even longer.

That would give him plenty of time to figure out his...godmother.

It was a good thing, he decided then, that he had never met Orochimaru before, as a change like this would be quite hard to accept as easily as he was should a relationship of any kind have already been established.

That did mean it was going to be quite odd for him to see Orochimaru as a man in the future, though, which brought him some amusement. The idea of meeting Orochimaru at all was disturbing to most, yet here he was realizing he'd only think it was strange to see the Sannin in the form the rest of world knew him to have.

How strange people must think his life was, he realized, when meeting someone like Orochimaru as a woman was considered normal to him?

"No," She mused, breaking him from his own thoughts. "I don't suppose they do. You just have to remember that you godmother is far above average."

His brow rose yet again- he had a feeling this would be a common occurrence in her presence- as he curiously inquired; "Godmother? Do you intend to retain this form then?"

The Sannin frowned, which was really more like a pout, and her forehead crinkled slightly in thought.

"I haven't quite decided." Orochimaru admitted. "It's beginning to grow on me, I have to admit, and I can always change my mind later. When one is questing for immortality, what are a few years spent in a form you decide you don't like later? Even if it stopped e from working, a few years wasted means nothing to eternity."

"An inconvenience?" Orochimaru waived her hand as if banishing his suggestion.

"While I may seek to master all the techniques in the world with my immortality, the important thing is experience. It may not greatly benefit me but I'd rather have the first-hand knowledge to draw from than have to make any guesses, regardless of how educated they may be."

"In that case, I don't suppose you lose either way. I'd assume that's the point?"

She flashed him another smile.

"Exactly. So, tell me what my crimson prince has been up to lately."

As she said that her gaze had dropped to the papers that shared the desktop with her, quickly skimming over what could be read from her current position and making no move to get a better view. Until she made an effort to read the contents she wasn't being nosey, just extremely perceptive of her surroundings. Well, that's what she'd claim, at least.

"I've been a bit behind in reports from Sai and Mai, so not much more than catching up on paperwork."

She frowned a bit at that.

"You can't go taking over a country and being declared a noble house of Hi no Kuni and then proceed to tell me all you've done is paperwork." She huffed, crossing her arms.

His brow made what was already becoming a familiar trip higher up his forehead.

"You already knew about that." Was his counter. It earned him a scowl, and he couldn't help but to think it was utterly adorable. He'd take care to not say that aloud in her presence, however. He wasn't arrogant enough to think he stood any chance against a Sannin.

"You haven't done anything else?" She asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

Naruto shrugged.

"Some sparing with Yugao-Sempai and Hanabi-San, I suppose. Put some effort into further cementing Hinata's loyalty so as to not lose control over the cult that's forming around her, too, but not much else. Missions with Anko are pretty regular at this point."

He had returned to his papers and didn't see the surprise on her face. A cult? Had he mentioned that previously? And then there was the matter of her old apprentice. Both were interesting, but what to ask about first?

"Oh, I didn't realize you were involved with any cults, Naruto-Kun, tell Orochimaru-Chan all about it." She scooted closer to him, pushing away papers that would need to be sorted later.

With a sigh, Naruto took that as a sign that he would be finished for paperwork for the day.

"Come on," He said as he stood from the desk. "Let's move to the living room for this."

Orochimaru had no objections to this, especially when she was able to sit against him on the couch.

Her prince even let her run her fingers through his hair properly this time.

Such a sweet boy.

* * *

Finding a better place to set up camp wasn't actually that hard in the end. A nearby river cut through a good third of the Forest of Death- as the woman who she had seen around her brother called it- and went by a small hill of stone. That hill, most fortunately, also had several caves.

The cave they had chosen was found only by pure Uzumaki luck, despite her not being the one to- quite literally- stumble upon it. Sakura, exhausted from a stressful day of searching for somewhere safe to hole up for the rest of the exams, had tripped on a root near the river and fallen through dense foliage.

Foliage that just so happened to be hiding the mouth of a cave.

They didn't waste any time after that setting up their camp and making sure their teammate was safe to recover from the attack and the strange woman who had bit him during it.

Who the hell did something like that, anyway?

It had already been done- and they were still out there, somewhere- so there was really no point in dwelling on it at the moment, but seriously, biting him? Occasionally she forgot just how strange those of the Shinobi world were. Things like this, she figured, were the universe's way of reminding her.

A quick glance to her teammates showed- predictably- Sakura gently tending to the unconscious Uchiha and Naruko briefly considered the practicality of lighting a fire in the cave.

The ceiling was pretty high- surprisingly- and a slight breeze indicated there was an opening somewhere else in the cave she couldn't see- likely the ceiling- so she could probably get away with it. The smell and the chances of light spilling out through the upcoming night, however, had her hesitating. She wasn't certain if the smoke would escape just to draw potential enemies to them or if the foliage that hid the cave would completely block the flickering light of a fire.

In the end, she decided it was probably best not to risk it.

Taking a seat near her two teammates- if only to be further from the entrance and at less of a risk of giving away their position- she went through her provisions. She had gone through them often enough before the first exam and again as they waited for the start of the second to know exactly what was contained within down to the last chakra pill or foot of ninja-wire but the task gave her something to occupy herself with and provided a feeling of prepared reassurance she wouldn't have otherwise been able to acquire.

Depending on how long it took for Sasuke to recover- assuming he would- they could be here for several days.

She was not looking forward to it.

* * *

The letter, gratefully received from the silent operative who had- once again- snuck into the compound, was quickly read.

She didn't know why they insisted on sneaking into her home as if each one of her visitors was part of some torrid love affair – and she was absolutely certain neither sweet little Mai nor Nami no Tsukiyomi (As some within the Imperial Fire Court had begun calling him, or so she had heard) had ordered such- but it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon, despite her clan and their pack being allies.

She wondered, not for the first time, if they did it just to annoy her.

That she wouldn't put past them. For the trained killers they were they possessed an interesting childishness sometimes that never failed to remind her of puppies.

Of course, then they would become nearly emotionless drones for the duration of a task they had been ordered to by their lord and would remind her so much of the infamous- amongst Konoha Shinobi, at least- Root operatives that it was impossible to not come to the conclusion of mental conditioning.

Whether it had been by Tsukiyomi or not- and regardless of how successful it had been in the eyes of those who had done it- it did explain, somewhat, their oddness. The conditioning, in her humble opinion, was likely unfinished or possessed within it some major flaw. For as much as she had come to like them and found it easy to interact with the operatives it was painfully obvious that this was not the end product anyone had in mind.

Tsukiyomi, admittedly, made very good use of them regardless, which made it hard to dismiss the thought that he may have had some part in it.

This whole train of thought, however, was not something she had intended to follow for so long after receiving a letter she had been eagerly waiting for and so she turned her attention back to it.

It wasn't terribly important to the outside world, not even fully confidential should it have been intercepted, but it was important to her.

After all, she no longer had the luxury of seeing her daughter every day.

This letter wasn't too different from the others she had received, mentioning that her daughter was enjoying her position as Governor and that Nami no Kuni was growing well under her care, but it did hint to a large portion of the forces stationed there- apparently not all of them Wolves- being on the prowl.

Tsume hadn't heard anything about this from Mai as of late and apparently Sai had only informed her daughter that such was the will of Tsukiyomi.

The direction they had gone in was probably the part most of concern.

True, the bridge was there for them to cross and was the best way for traveling either east or north, but it still felt off. Konoha was to the east and the Yamanaka had already felt the Wolves' touch. What were they up to?

* * *

From behind his veil he sneered down at the gathering below him. Nearly the entirety of their forces were there training in preparation for the oncoming conflict- one in which they were to be the instigator.

Fools, the lot of them.

The original plan was nice and sound but now, with no support?

They were going to be crushed.

More than the forces, at that. What few- compared to other major villages, at least- missions they managed to acquire supported the entire economy here in the desert sands. Sure, they had tradespeople throughout Kaze no Kuni but caravans were infrequent and possessed no set schedule, making it difficult for businesses and artisans to expand or for those who depended on foreign supplies to know when they might next get the opportunity to refresh their stock.

When the majority of their forces were decaying corpses in the forests of Hi no Kuni, food for the trees not seen here in the desert, there would be a major decrease to village income and their already precarious position would become only worse.

Only victory held hope for them, but victory was no longer a potential outcome.

He knew his son's strength well enough, that of the Biju Shukaku who had been sealed within the infant, but even then it would bring only damage to Konoha, not victory to Suna. He was certain that, while difficult, it would not be anywhere near as challenging as the Suna council might hope for Konoha to subdue the Biju.

After all, did they not subdue all nine, keeping the most mighty in their possession over all these years? And word was the container of the ninth was back in Konoha with a team to participate in the exams. Gaara might not even make it to the end of the third exam, where the council planned to make their move.

Not officially of course, they didn't have the authority for that, but they had already managed to convince his forces to follow through with an invasion attempt that was doomed to failure.

And he, Kazekage, could only say so much against it. His forces would obey his order, for a time, but they were getting desperate. It was that very desperation the council used to sway them. No, the best he could do was voice his opinion on the matter and let them do as they would. It was far better, in his opinion, that he remain Kage here for the hard times no doubt soon to befall them rather than allow what forces Suna possessed to try overthrowing him to place a leader more inclined- and certainly more foolish for it- to war.

Already he had plans set in place, loyal subordinates who understood the reality of their position and how their poor situation could so easily become so much worse ready to move on his orders.

Even if Suna miraculously managed to survive this coming storm, the council would not.

He'd see to that personally if need be.

Beyond that which, really, wasn't a huge priority in the scheme of things, he had an evacuation ready for his people. Should Konoha retaliate, which wasn't too far-fetched in such a situation, he wanted the civilians as far away as possible.

They would be more safe in the capital, for a time, and if it came down do it they could escape using ships in the northern waters. Though if things got that far the capital would probably be trying to evacuate as well but Orochimaru had already been kind enough to arrange one of the private docks a bit further from the city with supplied ships and competent guard.

What the price of this might be Rasa didn't even want to ponder yet, but he wouldn't decline the help or the offered sanctuary of Nami no Kuni if things should come to it.

Personally, he'd rather not go to the land of Waves, especially at Orochimaru's invitation rather than that of the Wolves who his people would be at the mercy of, but if the Snake Sage's arrangement with the Wolves was anything to base his expectations on it shouldn't be unbearable.

His people would, if nothing else, have plenty of work opportunities, if rumors of Nami no Kuni's growth were to be believed.

In the end, it really just depended on how the invasion went.

Suna would lose, of course, but the amount of success they had would determine Konoha's response.

Well, that and whatever influence Orochimaru's godson might have in Konoha.

Now that was a disturbing thought. Not only was he placing the escape of his people in Orochimaru's hands but he was entrusting someone he had never met- someone Orochimaru would do anything for- to reduce the consequences of Suna's actions.

He was going to be having nightmares about this for weeks, he knew, filled with Orochimaru's laughter.

Joy.

* * *

"And as far as I can tell the boundary is 'here'," He explained, moving her pale fingers over his bare chest to the mentioned spot. "There's nothing that I can see that would indicate the two seals are intertwined but from what I understand that doesn't mean they can't influence each other in some way."

"I-I see." She peered over his shoulder to see, very well aware that her position was the easiest for hiding her blush. It made seeing the seal a bit odd but she couldn't help it, she wasn't going to have one of his first interactions remembered as her blushing uncontrollably.

How was she to have known that a light discussion on seals would lead to her beautiful prince removing his shirt before her? She hadn't even been given any warning!

Luckily she had always been quick at thinking on her feet and as he began removing his shirt- likely intending to sit right back down afterwards- she had hurried to stand behind him so she would have more time to compose herself.

He really didn't know just how delicious she found him, did he?

Such a wonderful body it was, she would have been tempted to take it for sheer aesthetics were he not her beloved godson.

And Orochimaru had always thought herself a practical woman.

Well, maybe not a woman, but you get the idea.

"I would suspect, for a lack of anything else, that the seal reached out to this one because it may have held the same chakra that initially woke it. Yakushi-Sensei's comments when I went through Chakra withdrawal seem to support that Mito's chakra was still present and I know I didn't have any when they left."

"You know he's not a real doctor, right?" She mumbled distractedly, trying to follow his words, examine the seal, and keep her focus off of her godsons' shirtless form. It wasn't a matter of morals- she had left those behind long ago- but a matter of waiting until the moment was right. She wasn't just going to start going after him immediately- even if she wanted to- because in the end it was his needs that mattered more.

Of course, she was going to keep a very close eye on him for the second he expressed such needs.

He was hers, her Crimson Prince, and she would make sure to take very good care of him.

She'd just have to wait, regardless of how hard he was making it.

Naruto shrugged at her question.

"He was working as a med-nin, that's close enough in the Shinobi world." Was his response. "Even if he's not a doctor he's closer to one than I'll ever be."

"I don't know, I probably know more about the human body than he does at this point, I could always teach you." She tried not to make it sound dirty, really, she did, but by his amused chuckle she had been less than successful.

"You're as bad as Anko." He claimed. "We were supposed to be going over the seal you helped my father create."

"Helped is key, Naruto-Kun. There was no match to Minato when it came to sealing and in this case his masterpiece may or may not be interacting with a seal he didn't even develop. We haven't even gotten into how the fact that it was the Shinigami himself to complete the seal and how that may have affected it." Orochimaru paused momentarily. "And I should hope that Anko-Chan hasn't forgotten everything I taught her, I was her sensei after all."

Naruto hummed shortly in acknowledgement.

"True, I suppose that makes Anko as bad as you, then."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" He could practically hear her pout and turning to look behind him revealed that Orochimaru of the Sannin was indeed pouting behind him. It was very Anko-like, really, but perhaps that was backwards too. Anko, however, never had that blush- or maybe it was just that much easier to see on his godmother's pale complexion- staining her cheeks.

For a feared S-ranked Shinobi, she was pretty adorable.

Orochimaru-adorable, that was, and such a strange thought too. A strange thought naturally followed by a question he decided to voice. He was quite certain now, after having spent some time with her, that she wouldn't be too upset by his words.

Not that he wasn't prepared to run, just in case he had misjudged.

"So, if she's like you then I suppose she isn't Anko-Adorable, is she?" He could hear her choke on air behind him, completely unprepared to hear their bloodthirsty former student be associated in any way with the word 'adorable'. "It just means the two of you are Orochimaru-Adorable."

Her gasp of surprise, however, was very much Hinata-Adorable.

The tight grasp she kept him in for the next two hours was also very much like the former heiress.

Perhaps there was some merit to the Naruto-Adorable theory?

* * *

 **And that's LII. Think I'll try to use tomorrow to get a head start for the next chapter. By Tymora's grace, we might not have to wait an entire month again for an update.**


	53. Musical Guests

**Not a month this time, so we have some improvement. Also of note is the fact that this chapter is 50% larger than my standard chapters, so that should make the wait seem a little less worse.**

 **You know, hopefully.**

 **Some of you, if you've paid any attention to geography in this story, will probably start noticing inconsistencies. This would be because I've been going off how I've always thought of the Shinobi world being laid out and have recently taken a look at an actual map.**

 **Suffice to say, I was quite mistaken.**

 **Beyond that, I have any idea of what scenes I want for the next chapter already, so I'm aiming to have it up within two weeks.**

 **Probably more for me to address, but I can't recall any of it right now.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help. They've helped me avoid the worst of the plot issues for at least 30 chapters now (Though it's probably somewhere closer to between 45 and 50- it's hard to remember a time where they weren't pointing out major plotholes) and we'd have a vastly different story if not for his aid.**

 **With all that said, enjoy act LIII.**

* * *

One did not truly appreciate the length of a day until you found yourself hiding in a cave with absolutely nothing to do.

She had three such days in which to learn that.

Giving a quiet huff, one only head by her nearby teamster, she attempted to adjust her position against the cave wall, using her pack as a sort of pillow. Not a good pillow, mind you, and there were metal plates covering the rather slim pack to protect the scrolls it was specially designed to hold.

Long ago packs like these were used by envoys carrying important letters and sensitive information. The Uzumaki had found a different, albeit similar, purpose for them. Why limit yourself to just papers when those papers can be covered in seals? Better yet, those papers and seals could hold not just an arsenal but countless stacks of other papers, also covered in seals.

The fact that those particular papers exploded in great balls of fire was only a plus.

And at no point had making the outside comfortable been a concern of anyone, which was more evident than ever as she once again tried to find a position that was even semi-comfortable.

She was not succeeding in the slightest.

With another quite huff she gave up, ripping the pack from behind her and setting it to her side with more force than was actually necessary and crossing her arms in annoyance. A few years ago she may have puffed out her cheeks, too, but she had been quite fortunate to outgrow that before her return to Konoha.

With nothing better to do, her eyes flickered to the only things in the cave that were even remotely interesting, and even then that was being rather generous. In her opinion, at least.

Sakura, as one might expect, was kneeling next to Sasuke, despite there not being anything more for them to do for him at the moment. The cold rag resting on his head wouldn't need to be changed for another twenty minutes, based on Naruko's observations over the last few days, and he had yet to do anything more than furrow his brow or mumble slightly in his sleep.

She would actually call it whimpering, if one were to ask her to be honest, but she could at least make an attempt to be a bit nicer about her teammate. When he was injured, anyway. There was also the fact that they didn't even know who had attacked them, let alone what remained wrong with their teammate.

After just six hours of doing absolutely nothing in this gods-forsaken cave she had come to the conclusion that it really wasn't her place to judge his current state or any mumbles- whimpers- that escaped him. Now, if it was something she was familiar with, that would be completely different.

Still, the simple fact that he was whimpering was concerning. Even with him out cold and unable to mask anything he had always come across as having a rather high pain tolerance compared to the other Genin of their year.

He was not as good at hiding the results of failed fire Jutsu as he might otherwise have believed and she was well aware that even then he would continue with training- or whatever lame mission Kakashi threw at them to keep them occupied and out of his hair- without issue.

So, with each whimper, she couldn't help but become more curious as to what he was suffering from.

Not that there was much else to do in here at the moment but think. She could try talking to Sakura, she supposed, but neither of them really seemed to be in the mood for a conversation.

That actually proved to be a very good thing, for if they had been in a conversation she probably would have missed the rustling of the foliage separating her team from the rest of the exam.

As it was, she did hear it, and became acutely aware that they had guests.

* * *

For a forest of death, there was a disappointing lack of it.

Sure, there were some rather surprising animals they had crossed, but they hadn't even been worth the effort of killing as they scurried away from the more dangerous predator.

Shukaku might not be the most mighty of Biju and this wasn't his domain but the animals were still able to recognize the threat he posed. Well, that his container posed, but to these animals there was no difference, no classification to separate Jinchuriki and Biju.

There was simply predator and prey.

Gaara was the predator and the forest responded accordingly.

His siblings found it rather convenient, if a bit off-putting.

Knowing your little brother was a bloodthirsty killer with a giant Tanuki sealed in him was one thing, watching giant spiders and insects twice as tall as a grown man scurry away at his mere approach was quite another.

If nothing else, it pointed out how foolish humans were to create such beings, these Jinchuriki, and then let them walk among them. Even better was the fact that many Jinchuriki were tormented by those who created them. The animals of this forest knew better.

One might also point out that they managed to survive Gaara's passing. Villagers who didn't possess the same instincts and decided it was a good idea to show- in any way- their displeasure at his existence could not say the same.

Of course, with the very forest doing its best to stay out of his way and most of the teams not able to put up the barest pf challenges they could have finished this exam on the first day, probably within a few hours, and yet they still wandered about.

It was not for lack of scrolls, that objective having been long completed in excess, but because Gaara had wanted to.

He hadn't explained any more than that.

His siblings hadn't dared question.

And so they continued to wander almost aimlessly through the most infamous training ground of Konohagakure no Sato. Each of them had their own pair of scrolls – Gaara's being entrusted to, or rather passed off to her so he wouldn't have to carry them himself, his sister- and Kankurō played with three additional scrolls using chakra strings.

He seemed amused and Gaara didn't care so long as the older boy was behind him- where he didn't have to watch him- and they didn't lose any of those scrolls. Unneeded, they may be, but Gaara had been the one to obtain them and wasn't going to stand for his work- effortless as it was for him- going to waste.

Trustfully, Gaara did not know why he didn't just head to the tower and be done with it. Surely there was nothing for him here, right? At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if that girl- the sister of Naruto-Sama- had already completed the task and was currently at the tower. Returning, then, would give him a chance to observe her and if she was anything like her brother she probably breezed through this exam even more easily than he had so far.

Then again, her brother being a god said nothing about her. She very well could still be out here, for all he knew, and he couldn't quite determine what he might do should he meet her team.

On one hand, it would present an opportunity to see just how skilled she was and, if it was not enough, crush her before she drew near the monstrous strength of her brother. There was some safety in that plan, eliminating her now as they were hidden in the forest.

On the other, it provided a chance to get into their favor. Hers alone, at first, but possibly Naruto-Sama's at the same time. That provided the immediate benefit of showing Naruto-Sama that he had no intention of going against him- now, at any rate- and might eventually lead to him learning just how Naruto-Sama gained his power. Or, at the very least, perhaps the chance of discovering a weakness.

It was a bit more risky than just killing her, as he had a better chance of hiding his involvement in her murder, and Gaara had no idea what the relationship between the two was, so he couldn't properly predict Naruto-Sama's response.

But the chance to get close to Naruto-Sama in a manner that would reduce the chances of that same god given flesh erasing his existence.

And Gaara had every intention of living, damnit.

Ally it was, then. That was fine. It was easier to stab someone in the back, anyway. Or so he had heard. It had been a long time since he last used steel. In fact, he was pretty sure the last person he tried to use steel against was himself, if he remembered correctly.

Maybe he would have had better luck stabbing himself in the back?

Before he could think much on that- or order Kankurō to stab himself in the back- a familiar smell hit his nose. It was faint, so very faint, and it was by no means fresh- no less than three days, by his estimation- but he would know that smell anywhere.

"Blood." It was the same gravely growl they had come to expect but spoken at a near whisper that they almost didn't catch.

Almost.

They were still far too wary of the boy to ever pay so little attention as to miss something like him speaking. That would just be asking to be crushed. Gaara, after all, was not used to being ignored, even if it wasn't on purpose.

Still, the low volume he spoke in was abnormal. Fortunately, even Kankurō managed to get the hint that his brother wanted them to stay quiet.

Moving near silently- something Temari had not previously noticed and sent nervous shivers down her spine- Gaara followed the smell to nearby bushes. A quick check using tendrils of sand revealed a lack of carcasses, human or otherwise, and so Gaara could only assume the smell came from beyond it.

He walked through the foliage without hesitation, abandoning all stealth, and his siblings quickly followed.

There was a cave behind, despite Kankurō's initial belief that his brother was about to walk straight into the hill, that was fairly well lit considering the lack of any fire. A slight breeze could be felt- the same one that carried the smell of dried blood- which meant there were some other openings for the cave from which light could spill in.

The still body- tended to by pink- was the likely source of the smell.

Of course, that pink was rather unique and Gaara had already possessed an interest in this particular group. Pink female, Raven male…..there, off to the side was the bright blond of Naruto-Sama's sister. Perhaps by blood, perhaps not, but either was an opportunity to curry favor he desperately needed.

Knowing- and having an opportunity- to curry favor and being diplomatic, however, were two entirely differently things.

With a lazy gesture towards the downed Uchiha- which was really just an attempt to keep from making a move that would seem too hostile, he wasn't completely hopeless- he proceeded to ask a question with just about all the tact he had become capable of since meeting Naruto-Sama and learning that he was not, in fact, the top of the food chain;

"Is he dead?"

Probably not, considering the body was right in the middle of camp being tended to instead of against the far wall, but who knew what strange customs the Leaf-nin had?

The blonde's face went from surprised caution to an almost irritated scowl, almost as if she couldn't believe he had asked that, of all things.

To be fair, neither could his siblings.

"No, he's not dead." She crossed her arms over her chest from her seated position with a quiet huff. She probably should be more nervous about having been found but really couldn't feel very threatened after a question like that.

"Oh." Gaara fell silent for a moment, watching an almost oblivious pink Kunoichi as she continued to fuss after her charge. "Kankurō, you get to carry him."

"What?! Why me?" The immediate concern, naturally, was that he was expected to do something, rather than the action he had been asked to perform. When it came to Gaara you learned quickly enough not to bother questioning what it was he wanted done. Who had to do it was an entirely different matter.

Gaara didn't bother explaining- a single glare was enough to have his older brother huff his way over to team seven's only male Genin. A flick of the puppeteer's fingers and his favorite weapon untangled itself from his back for a most undignified purpose as a makeshift stretcher.

Chakra strings packed a surprising amount of force when properly combined with a jointed frame.

Sakura tried to protest when she noticed someone was trying to move her Uchiha but a quick glare from the older Suna nin and she backed up to let the puppet pick up her teammate. It had the added bonus of making Kankurō feel better. Gaara might be able to glare him into submission but at least he was still above these rookie Genin.

With Sasuke secure Gaara turned to exit the cave, paying no mind to the Uchiha's two teammates as they rushed to gather their belongings and follow after their incapacitated teammate.

The two Kunoichi of team 7 didn't know why their Suna competitors were aiding them but as Temari surrendered her own pair of scrolls they both found they didn't much care.

The sooner they could get out of this damn forest and into a nice, hot bath the better.

* * *

"So," The comfortable silence was broken by his voice as they once more spent time doing little more than enjoying each other's presence on his couch. "What exactly was it you were doing?"

From her positioned tucked against his shoulder Orochimaru raised her head to meet his gaze with a questioning brow.

"We both know you didn't come straight here after my Wolves smuggled you in."

"Ah, then." The fact that her response indicated she had been up to more recently was pointedly ignored, as were the multitude of papers spread across the coffee table. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Wolves had reported to Mai that he had finished his paperwork and she had shunted some of her own onto him.

Which, while a bit irritating, was more than fair.

It had, after all, been his work anyway. If the one he had delegated to had too much on her plate it fell to him to pick up his own slack.

Well, that or find someone else for administrative tasks.

Mai had been like a secretary, at first, but with more responsibilities given to her perhaps it was time for a new one.

He had to wonder if finding someone for the task would be any less work than just buckling down and doing it himself. Somehow he doubted it.

"Yes, then." There was faint but evident amusement in his voice. He still had trouble getting over the fact that the woman curled up next to him on the couch, her bare feet shoved beneath a pillow to keep them warm, was the S-rank Rouge Shinobi that could give Jounin nightmares.

Not that they had ever really been seen as completely sane, even back when they weren't using other people's bodies.

Brilliant, undoubtedly, but certainly never thought of as anything less than moderately unhinged.

"Just delivering a present." He wouldn't have known of her faint shrug if he wasn't able to feel her move against him. "Don't worry, no one died…." She paused for a moment, contemplating.

"I didn't kill anyone, directly, at least. They may have died anyway." Was her final answer, despite not having been prodded for further clarification.

"And who was it who may have died?"

"Oh, the Uchiha. He should be fine, I'd imagine he's strong enough to survive my Ten no Juin. Whether or not something else will kill him while his body adjusts to it, however…." She shrugged again. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see."

"Is there a reason you went after him?" He didn't much care one way or the other, but he was still curious. Naruko had Mito and he was sure she'd be able to pull the team through even if the Uchiha was dead weight. It wasn't like Mito would accept anything else.

Still, he was a bit curious. Surely she had gone after him for a reason, right? Then again, this was Orochimaru. If anyone was going to do something because they could it was her.

"My goal is to learn all the Jutsu that have, do, and will exist." Was her explanation.

"Ah, the Sharingan." He paused. "And how, exactly, will potentially killing him provide you with his eyes?" Really, it couldn't be that hard to just pluck them out, not for someone of her caliber, anyway.

"Seals are amazing," The Sannin started "But I'm nowhere near the level of your father. I helped him with the minor parts, individual seal strands that were miniscule parts of the whole, and was there for him to bounce ideas off of while he came up with the masterpiece on your arm."

She gave a longing look to his arm, knowing exactly what it was that hid beneath the white cloth and the potential it held.

"Even so, I was able to develop something of my own. Not the work of a true master, but with the inclusion of other elements I was able to create a seal that would boost the fighting potential of anyone who bore it." She continued. "The major drawback is that not everyone is strong enough to handle such drastic changes to their body. The first placement of the seal is the most dangerous, as the body creates a supplementary chakra system within the user's body to be drawn on at times of high stress."

She paused only briefly, as if deciding how much he really cared to know, and proceeded in her explanation.

"Stress, however, is hard to measure in the Shinobi-world, at least in term of combat. Anger, however, was a much easier trigger and would allow the seal to provided additional power with little to no input from the user. The increased power dulls some of the senses and increases aggressive instincts, but to a properly trained Shinobi those are minor disadvantages compared to the power boost it provides. "

"And so you decided to give it to a Genin? I fail to see how that is in any way wise, Orochimaru."

"Because I don't intend for him to keep it." She did her best to ignore the shiver that ran through her at the sound of her name leaving his lips. There was something about the way he said it that- no, she needed to focus. She could think about that later. " It would take years of training to master it at his current level but it still provides an immediate boost that will far outstrip most Genin. It's only in the upper B-ranks that opponents can take meaningful advantage of the increased aggression and decreased senses."

"Not quite following." Admitted the young lord.

"If I can make him more powerful than his peers with just a bite, how much power can he obtain if he leaves the village to be trained by me?"

He looked down at her with a raised brow.

"That seems far too complicated for seducing a Genin from his village. If you just needed him away from Konoha you could just promise him future power, show of some unique Jutsu, or grab him in his sleep. Kidnapping shouldn't be too hard for you."

Another shiver tingled down her spine. Oh, yes, she'd very much like to seduce a certain Genin, just not the Uchiha.

"Ah, but it's more than just about getting him away. If I took his eyes alone they would only last for one of my bodies." It was easy to forget that this wasn't Orochimaru's original body and that she intended to take more in the future. Actually, now that he thought about it-

"The seal has something to do with your ability to change bodies, doesn't it?"

She flashed him a bright smile.

"Exactly. The same extra chakra system that provides a boost to the user also allows me to store my own chakra within them and slowly acclimate their body to my presence. It's much easier to take over when the body accepts me, even if they don't."

"And so you've marked the Uchiha to get his Sharingan. Do I even want to know how it's going to carry over to future bodies?"

"It's not too bad." She shrugged again. "When I bite them I leave both the seal and traces of my current genetic makeup, which is used by the seal during the takeover of the host to modify the body accordingly. When I next perform the transfer my newest body's genetic makeup is added into the mix. Or, that's the simple version, anyway. It took me forever to find a way to only pass on desired genetic traits. It's not a perfect method but it is pretty god-damned good, if I do say so myself."

"I see. How long until you take his body? I don't imagine you have to wait too long until the body is ready or there would be too many chances of something going wrong."

"A week, give or take a few days, if I have them in a controlled environment. If I just applied the seal to someone random and they managed to survive it can take up to six weeks. Knowing that the Uchiha will most definitely be drawing on the seal's power whenever he can, I'd give him perhaps a fortnight."

"So you'll be in his body by the invasion?"

Orochimaru shook her head.

"Oh, no, it will be a few months until I try that. I just wanted to make sure he was marked now while I had the opportunity. Does it matter?" She paused, a brief panic rising. "You didn't have any plans for him, did you?"

She knew she had been forgetting something. This was Naruto's territory and she had completely neglected to check before she acted. Though, considering how calm he'd been about it so far that didn't seem to be an issue. Even if it turned out he had plans for the boy and they simply hadn't been important enough to worry about having lost them she was going to feel really bad about ruining them.

"No." The answer was short and to the point, silence falling between them once again. It didn't last very long.

"Actually," He started the conversation up again. "I keep meaning to look into this but do you know what his relation to Uchiha Mikoto is?"

Not that he really expected the snake Sannin to know, considering they had been out of the village for quite a few years, but talk of the Uchiha reminded him once again that he still hadn't taken the time to find out.

He'd determined long ago that it really wouldn't change anything- she was his now, after all- but it would still be a good thing to know if he wanted to avoid any unnecessary complications in the future.

Orochimaru gave him a look. Not quite a blank look that said she didn't know, but one that didn't seem to believe he was actually asking that question.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked. "Everyone knows that Sasuke, youngest son of Fugaku, was the only one to survive that night."

His blank look quite plainly stated that he wasn't putting an answer together from that.

"Fugaku was the Uchiha patriarch, head of the clan. Mikoto was the matriarch, his wife."

"Oh, his mother then." A moment's silence passed. "Well, shit."

The Sannin blinked up at him. "What, you didn't make her any promise to protect him or anything before she died, did you?"

He raised a single brow as the corner of his lips twitched. "No, mostly because she's not dead."

The shock on her face was absolutely adorable-

"Tell me Orochimaru, have you heard of Akatsuki?"

-Her following grin, on the other hand, was just about enough to make the Shinigami shit himself.

* * *

"And here it is- the final line up for the last exam!" The voice of the purple-examiner was far too cheerful for someone who had just watched young teens beating the shit out of each other for the chance to do the exact same thing in a month, just in front of an actual audience.

Then again, this was Mitarashi Anko.

Even the foreign Shinobi had already known to expect this, and they had only seen her twice before she shoved them in to a forest she quite happily proclaimed she was hoping would kill them.

Of course, that same act was more than enough for one to describe Mitarashi Anko to those who had never met her.

"Lazy-Ass Nara against Dosu-Mummy, Bugboy gets to fight the Uchiha, Eyebrows here can show his Youth to Mr Fate, Sunshine here will be paired with a proper fucking Fan-Girl, and the Raccoon was fortunate enough to draw number one, so he gets a free pass on the first round. Don't bother asking the order yet, I'll base it on how large the betting pools are." She smiled down at the exhausted Genin, pleased that she had been able to throw them against each other shortly after they had managed to drag themselves out of her forest.

"Any questions?"

'Raccoon' raised his hand.

"Yes, you! The one who must steal his sister's mascara!" A snicker from Kankurō was quickly silenced. "Mascara is more masculine than lipstick, puppet-boy, and he at least has the decency to wear it right!"

Gaara proceeded as if they hadn't been interrupted, only a faint smirk indicating he had managed to find humor in the exchange. Temari, seeing it, was absolutely terrified.

"If we don't have enough for my match I could always fight someone else." That, at least, had not changed.

"Oh?" Anko leaned slightly forward, hands on her hips. "And who would you fight? Little ol' me, perhaps?"

Gaara's scoff was graciously accepted as his response. Graciously for Anko, at any rate.

"What, am I not good enough for you? There's someone else you'd rather spend your time with, huh?" She crossed her arms over her chest, cocking a hip to the side. "Well? Let's hear it, then. Who would you rather be fighting?"

"Naruto-Sama."

The name alone was enough to put Anko in an even more cheerful mood. Many of the others, however, were simply confused, especially by Naruko's shocked stare and Sasuke's deep groan.

Even without Kakashi here they still couldn't escape Naruko's brother.

Gods above, he hadn't even seen his fellow Konoha Genin since graduation!

"Oooh, can't exactly argue against that one." Admitted to Tokubetsu Jounin. "I'd rather spend time with him than any of you brats any day."

Another groan escaped the Last Uchiha's lips. Kakashi was bad enough, but there were two of them? They might as well just create a cult for the red-headed young man, at this rate.

* * *

The Hi no Kuni summer was different but not wholly unpleasant, he thought. Compared to his homeland, which would soon be experiencing a rather humid season with the ocean moisture and the hot winds that would sweep all the way from Sunagakure, it was nice and dry here, the heat which would have been stifling alone being pushed away by an almost constant breeze.

Of course, it was blowing it towards Mizu no Kuni, but he wasn't there right now and could worry about it later. Having experienced one of the lands that was also hit by the heat that produced summer for the Land of Water, however, was going to make him pretty bitter about the warm seasons from now on.

Somehow, he had always managed to be unlucky enough to find himself stuck in Mizu no Kuni during the summer but had been able to draw some small measure of comfort from the fact that other countries had to deal with the heat before them and didn't have the benefit of being surrounded by so much water.

As it would turn out, that seemed to be a good thing. He'd take this hot but dry over the warm humidity of Mizu no Kuni any summer.

The looming walls of Konoha- great gates open wide to welcome all, which was kind of strange considering they were supposed to be a hidden village- made him wonder if it was as pleasant within the city as it had been throughout the countryside of Hi no Kuni. Sure, many parts of the Land of Fire were covered in dense forests, but even then there was plenty of wind to take the edge off the heat. Would it be the same inside, or would walls turn the village into an oven?

An interesting thought, almost as interesting as the realization that Kirigakure no Sato was the only village that actually hid these days.

It was also the only village that seemed to be having major trouble, though words of Suna's economy placed it at a close second.

Perhaps when they had managed to overthrow Yagura e could suggest being a bit more open as a village. Allies, after all, would have been dead useful during the beginning of the bloodlimit rebellion and, perhaps, would have dissuaded the purges in the first place.

It was much easier to get away with things when no one could see what it was you were doing.

Shaking the thought from his head- he wouldn't need to worry about that until they had managed to win, which certainly seemed a far was off- he continued towards the massive gates ok Konohagakure.

Mei believed- with good reason according to Zabuza- that the Wolves were at least present- if not involved- with Konoha and Hi no Kuni. Rumors he had managed to hear through the towns he had passed on the way here supported such a conclusion, which meant Konoha was the best chance of him getting into contact with the Land of Fire's newest noble house.

Back in his day, one would have gone to the capital and petitioned the courts for something like this, or at the very least request an audience with the noble house they wished the support of, but in his part of the rebellion he had learned one very fundamental truth that had served him well-

Mei got what she wanted.

And if she decided he should seek them out in Konoha? Well, who was he to argue? It was her rebellion and her alliance, after all.

He was merely a simple soldier following his orders, just like the old days.

As it should be.

* * *

She was tired, she was sore, she was dirty, and by the gods she was looking forward to a long, hot bath, some good food, and a very long time getting reacquainted with her beloved bed.

Unfortunately, that was still some time off.

While she'd like nothing more than to just rush home after all that time in the Forest of Death, there were, apparently, procedures that had to be followed. Debriefs with various Chuunin for record purposes, medical exams to have deeming them fit for continued duty and ensuring they hadn't received some sort of injury that would become worse without treatment, and a small pile of paperwork that made very little sense.

Apparently the Chuunin who had brought the papers in for her also had no idea what, exactly, they were for and neither had the Chuunin that brought him his years prior. No one, apparently, knew what the purpose was and none of them were up to digging through the law and procedure of Konoha to find an explanation. It was much easier to just have each Gennin from the exam go through the paperwork.

She would normally agree, if it hadn't been her who had to work through it.

The other parts of this post-exam business had been simple enough, if one overlooked her omittance of certain details from the forest, but the paperwork just seemed to drag on forever.

Not that it would be a problem in the future if her recounting was matched against Sakura's and the girl had included everything. She doubted it would, considering it may place Sasuke in a bad light, and for the same reason Sasuke wouldn't include it either. Even so, there were other discrepancies one may be able to find that would cast suspicion over her team.

It's not like they really needed to know Sasuke was bitten by an infiltrator far above Chuunin rank and later awoke atop Kankurō's puppet covered in strange tattoos and exuding corrupted chakra like some sort of Pseudo-Jinchuriki.

No, she'd rather keep that bit quiet until they understood a bit more about what was going on.

Still, she felt a bit bad for the puppeteer. Poor guy's puppet was absolutely destroyed by her teammate upon his awakening and he was thus left forfeit of his greatest asset during the preliminaries. His youth, without his puppet, was no match for that of Lee's.

He had been quite soundly defeated.

The upside, however, was that the destruction of Karasu- as she had learned the puppet was named- was enough to catch Gaara's attention and a wall of sand had been quick to incapacitate the Uchiha long enough for the chakra buildup in his strange seal to dissipate and his rational mind to return.

She understood that sort of power far too well, having trained with it for years, and new very well how blinding it could be before you became accustomed to such a rush of pure power.

At the same time, understanding it didn't mean she wanted to deal with it, especially from her teammate and even more when they were in the middle of an exam that could cost them their lives.

She was, then, even more grateful that the Suna team had stumbled upon them and offered aid-

Now if only she could figure out _why_.

* * *

Well, fuck. That hadn't worked in any way he had been hoping it might. In fact, despite the fact that his student was marked by what could only be Orochimaru's Ten no Juin- which, really, may be of more benefit to the boy and his chances of making it through Shinobi life than anything of harm- nothing had really happened to the group so far.

The only good thing was that two of them had a chance- though, admittedly, a pretty small one- to become Chuunin in the last exam freeing himself from them. Then, of course, he might have to take Sakura as an apprentice.

That didn't sound fun at all.

He really hoped he just wasn't seeing the full picture and how he was truly going to benefit from what was happening around him.

He was Hatake-Fucking-Kakashi, after all, and it was supposed to be good to be him.

* * *

"It's no trouble if they stay, is it Naruto-Kun?" The voice drifted in from another room as they stood in the living room of an apartment in Konoha.

Dosu had to admit, he really hadn't expected to find himself in this situation.

Not in the least because a female Orochimaru was in the other room convincing this 'Naruto-Kun' – and it was disturbing enough to hear Orochimaru call someone that with actual affection- to let he and his team stay with them during the month break between the second and third exams.

Technically, he was the only one who needed a place to crash as his teammates had been defeated in the preliminary exams and thus were no longer eligible for a Chuunin promotion through this exam.

Not that either of them had been ready for such a role, really, and despite being capable of it even he would admit to not possessing completely the necessary skill level.

Mentality yes, power no.

Both were quite important.

Still, so long as one of them was sill part of the exam the entire team was allowed to stay in the hosting village. Something about fostering goodwill by allowing future Chuunin- the core of each villages Shinobi forces- to experience other villages.

Orochimaru, it would seem, wanted them all to remain and in that case he wasn't going to argue against it. It would be nice to have known allies nearby, if nothing else.

That's not to say the Wolf-masked Shinobi standing guard near the front door, in the kitchen by the window, and directly before the door to the room Orochimaru were in were not allies, for they were, but he felt much more inclined to place his faith in those he had fought and trained beside.

Accepting the Wolves as allies was one thing, feeling safe amongst them based solely upon the Snake-Sannin's word?

That was quite another.

A voice responded to his master- for it still felt odd to call Orochimaru 'mistress' and until she forced the issue he wasn't about to do so voluntarily- but it was soft enough to be heard as only a murmur through the walls.

The sound of happiness, one he tried valiantly not to think of as a squeal, indicated that the response had, at least, been favorable.

He shared a look with Kin- his favorite minion, as he liked to think of his teammates- which confirmed she had been paying attention to the conversation as best she could. A quick glance at Zaku- sprawled over their host's couch without a care before even meeting the man- showed that he had obviously not been.

The punk actually looked half asleep.

Grueling as the forest might have been, surely he could keep up appearances for a mere hour more. If Orochimaru liked this person then it was best not to anger her with a bad first impression. That was to say nothing about how their host might react.

They were, as previously mentioned, liked by Orochimaru.

Dosu typically tried not to think of the type of people that might be able to win her favor.

An hour, however, would be enough for introductions and getting settled in, at which point they could beg exhaustion and retire for the rest of the day, or for at least a few hours to recuperate some energy before dinner.

The movement of the Wolf at the door caught his attention and both he and Kin snapped into a loose ready position that was attentive enough to be polite but relaxed enough to feel natural. He didn't bother trying to convince Zaku to rise to show proper respect- both to their master and her favored- but Kin was kind enough to hiss out a sharp warning of "Zaku!".

His bleary "Huh?" was pointedly ignored as his teammates kept their eyes locked on the opening door, aiming as best they could for what would be right over Orochimaru's shoulders when she walked back out. Minute adjustments could escape notice but it wouldn't do to seem as if they were not paying attention to the woman.

And as some unfortunate recruits had learned there was a fine line between paying attention to her and irritating her with their staring. She wanted you to be aware of her, of course, but that didn't mean she liked having people's eyes on her when she was going about her business.

There was also that fool who had dared look her directly in the eyes when she approached. Whether it had been meant as aggressive or defiant was of little concern, his head had found itself rolling over the stone floors of Otogakure in a matter of seconds.

Dosu was quite intent to avoid the same fate, thank you.

Soon enough Orochimaru exited the room, joining them and shooting a venomous glare at Zaku. He was quick to scramble into an acceptable- if sloppy- stance.

The bandaged-wrapped Chuunin hopeful had a feeling that he only reason Zaku was still alive was because it would have been rude to kill him in their host's home. Blood stains really were a pain in the ass to get out.

His attention flickered from Zaku's fortune- regardless of hos temporary it might be- to the movement of a new figure in the doorway.

The first thing he noticed was the hair, a deep red that seemed to almost burn in what light was allowed to steam in through the nearly-closed blinds of the living room. Second, obviously, had been the height.

Slightly taller than himself, it would probably be even if he was to stop hunching over, but unless their host was really, really short then they couldn't be much older than himself.

In fact, the person, despite having a rather noble face, seemed to be even younger than him. Being generous and saying they simply looked young would only permit Dosu to believe him to be perhaps two- maybe three- years his senior.

That was still damn young, in his opinion. What the hell was he up to that he had managed to catch not just Orochimaru's interest but her favor? The last one close to that was rumored to be her right hand, who was acting as a spy here in Konoha until he was called off to help start arrangements in Wave for a new outpost. If this person was on the same sort of level as Orochimaru's right hand then it was someone he didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

Following his observations he made quick note of pale skin that seemed almost unearthly in the light and eyes that reflected the same light in a bright purple that he was positive saw right through his very existence.

"This," Introduced Orochimaru. "Is the one who has most graciously agreed to host us for the next month. I expect you to all be on your best behavior for Naruto-Kun here, I don't want to hear that you've managed to upset my Crimson Prince."

Crimson Prince indeed, Dosu didn't think it would take much to convince him that Orochimaru's favored was Amaterasu embodied or, more believably, her child.

Either way, the appearance alone set them apart from most in a manner that almost declared divinity and, more importantly, power. If Orochimaru ever seemed interested in something before it was power and their host's appearance just screamed it.

What sort of power would have to be determined later, but it was undeniably present.

Keeping his thoughts to himself, however, he was quick to respond to his master, Kin not far behind.

"Of course, Orochimaru-Sama." He gave a shallow bow, if only because he was already hunched over slightly. "It will be as you command."

"Yes, Orochimaru-Sama."

Orochimaru sent him a pleased grin when he proceeded to offer an additional bow to their host, this 'Naruto', which she quickly lost looking at Zaku.

"Erm, yeah, we'll be good boss." The idiot Zaku was going to get himself killed for not paying proper attention and reacting accordingly.

And if Orochimaru's frown wasn't bad enough, Naruto's lips pulled slightly down in displeasure at his newest guest. Dosu couldn't blame him if he was reconsidering his agreement to host them. Of course, Dosu better understood that frown and what it could mean. Orochimaru may want to kill Zaku- in fact, it was more likely than not- but she refrained because it would be rude and might displease Naruto further.

Naruto, as their host, didn't have the same issue. If he didn't care about the bloodstains he could eliminate- or have them eliminated- without worry.

Then again, killing one's guests was probably rude too.

"I'd better not regret this, Orochimaru." The way he spoke to their master nearly gave the Oto nin a heart attack. The words flowed with such a casual ease, but the undefined threat of comrades doing favors they weren't fond of alone would make it seem like he believed himself to be above her.

What's worse is that the way she responded as if she just might be.

Quickly slinking up to his side, she wrapped her arms around him, taking extra care to press his head between her breasts. "Oh, don't worry Naruto-Kun, we'll be good for you. And if any of them upset you I'll be sure to make it up to you."

She practically purred the last part in a manner Dosu was scared to admit was seductive. And had Orochimaru's words meant she was staying here with them? Had she already been living here with this young man?

Unease settled deep into his gut, something also experienced by Kin if their exchanged glance had been anything to go by, and he had to wonder once again-

Who the hell was their host?

* * *

 **See you all next time.**


	54. He Who Hosts

**And here we have another chapter. It probably feels like it's been a lot longer for most of you considering the last chapter I uploaded didn't register as an update despite posting and thus did not send out notifications. I should probably repeat that;**

 **- _IF YOU HAVE NOT VISITED THIS STORY AFTER MAY SEVENTH, 2017 THEN YOU HAVE MISSED AN UPDATE-_**

 **I suppose it's not an unpleasant surprise for those who haven't read the last chapter- almost no one, based on the lack of views- considering that they not only get two chapters, but that both chapters are larger than normal. Combined, they come to a word count approaching 15k.**

 **And speaking of word count, the last chapter broke 350k words, which is far longer than I had ever planned on this story becoming.**

 **Not much else to say. I'm certain there was something I wanted to mention- I think it had to do with a guest review- but it escapes me at the moment.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for looking over my work.**

 **Enjoy the show.**

* * *

Lazy he had been called, and those that did so weren't wrong, but let it not be said that Sarutobi Asuma half-assed anything. If he was going to have to do something then by the gods you knew he was going to do it right.

Even if he'd rather be doing just about anything other than sitting in the Hokage's office learning the position he was, apparently, going to fill someday soon.

More than once he had wondered if he could deny the position and how he would need to go about it.

Of course, there had only ever been four Kage of Konoha and all of them had wanted the positions. Only Uzushiogakure had been around longer and their Kage-equivalent had actually been the royal family of the Uzumaki clan, each one taking up the position as a sovereign would their rightful crown.

So not exactly a lot to go on for rejecting the offer to lead the village. Not that he didn't want to help the village, but he really didn't want the kind of responsibility- and stress- that came with the job. His stint in the Twelve Guardian Shinobi amongst the Daimyo and his Imperial Fire Court was plenty of politics to last him a lifetime, thank you.

He would much rather spend a few years training up a team and then retiring into a relaxfull position- by comparison- as the head of the Sarutobi Clan. He was acting clan head already, anyway, and the work for that wasn't too bad.

Remove from him the responsibilities and duties of a team leader and it would be a walk in the park.

He could hardly wait.

Or, rather, he hadn't been able to wait. Now that future seemed to draw further and further away with every paper he had to read over and every signature that found itself scrawled in fine ink he had no business ever using.

Still, if he was going to be doing this- even against his will- he was going to make sure he did everything to the absolute best of his abilities.

Already squads of ANBU combed the streets for traces of Orochimaru, reportedly encountered by Tokubetsu-Jounin Mitarashi Anko in the Forest of Death. Word that Uchiha Sasuke had made use of a strange seal during the preliminaries, one that gave off foul chakra, pointed to the Ten no Juin Mitarashi had been left with years ago, one she seemed to have managed to remove.

It provided some hope, though the fact remained that Orochimaru had no doubt been improving it and the two seals- that of Anko and of Sasuke- were unlikely to be identical. Still, knowing how she removed hers might allow insight to removing Sasuke's and that needed to be done soon.

Beyond Orochimaru- who seemed to be laying low- and the matter of Sasuke's curse seal, there was something else Asuma was going to need to expend a considerable amount of effort towards-

The Wolves.

His father had been less than forthcoming with information, only promising it after the inauguration- whenever that was, anyway- as he considered it too 'sensitive' to release otherwise.

Nevermind the fact that he was sitting here perusing ANBU reports and signing off on the acceptance of missions the rest of the world would be kept oblivious of.

Hiruzen, wise and powerful as he might have been, was getting old. Not just in age, but in soul. The first non-founder Hokage, he had lived for much of the village's life and had seen far too much as they carved and held their own piece of sanctuary from what had been, only decades before, a land ravaged by warring clans.

Asuma had no doubt that his father had been weary of his position back before his first retirement- and to this day he had never seen his father so happy as when he had been relieved of the burden of the village after many, many years of toiling under it- and when he took up the mantle once more he had already lost that drive he had possessed when he first took up the hat of Hokage.

He cared for the village, yes, and did his best for it, but he seemed to have trouble seeing the bigger picture now and separating his personal feelings from what should be done- what needed to be done- was just about impossible.

Personally, the former member of the Guardian Twelve had nothing against the Wolves themselves- in fact, the way things were going it seemed like the may be the equivalent of Root for his own duration of Kage. Disliked, but undoubtedly necessary- but he couldn't allow them such free reign within the village.

He had never been one for politics before, but just the thought that one would have to juggle clan politics, village law, the will of Hi no Kuni's Imperial Fire Court, and the pack mentality of a hidden force that sat in the shadows of Konoha's great tree was giving him a major headache.

It was, quite simply, an impossible task, the only way to even remotely succeed at it was to have them all arranged in a matter that maintained a balance between them all, allowing for proper negotiation and compromise whenever one faction wished for something.

That would be hard enough, but he had another problem there that would be easily fixed.

He knew, quite well, the Fire Court.

He was familiar enough with the clan politics of Konoha from his time as acting head of the Sarutobi clan.

Preparations for the mantle off Hokage was providing him ample experience with the village's laws.

He was fairly confident he would not have too many issues keeping those three facets satisfied.

But he knew next to nothing about the Wolves.

That would have to change.

Anyone of the Yamanaka clan would be far too obvious, but they were not his only option.

Now he just had to wonder how he could get them to cooperate.

* * *

A deep breath of the warm, moist air brought back memories. Many, many memories.

Most of which ended with him in pain and trudging to the hospital.

Those, in turn, usually became painful hospital visits back when Tsunade worked there. With the amount of experience she had in the area, she could immediately tell when injuries were from women who had been less than pleased being spied on in the hotsprings.

He usually left in more pain then he arrived, but at least she would dress the wounds and, more often then he cared to admit, set the bones broken by irate Kunoichi.

It really was a wonder he had never been castrated.

Still, even the thought that the very same luck that had thus far kept him from experiencing was likely to eventually run out, it had never kept Konoha's Gallant Jiraiya away from the hotsprings or the beauties that relaxed within.

Foreign or domestic, if there was a hotspring Jiraiya had probably both been there and kicked out of it.

Sometimes by management, more often than not by a mob of displeased women.

Ah, good times.

Despite the bad endings to otherwise happy memories, there was no hotspring like Konoha's hotspring. While it wasn't the biggest or the least likely to get him caught or horribly injured- in fact, most of his hotspring related injuries were from this very location- it was special because it was Konoha's.

It was home.

And home was somewhere he had not been in many, many years. Truth be told, it had been well over a decade since he had last stepped foot here and almost as long that he had done his very best to cut himself off completely from the going-ons of the village.

He could be reached in an emergency, of course, but even as nomadic his personality was staying away from home was difficult for him. A few months gone here, a few there, that was fine by him, but like a great tree his roots never left, regardless of how far his leaves might be carried in the wind.

And speaking of being carried by the wind, there had been the strangest reports of Kushina being seen traveling the continent with her daughter in tow. Oddly enough, not a single report from any of his sources mentioned the presence of her son. He had attempted to track them down, when the opportunity permitted, but he was usually called away to take care of something in his network before he could catch up and by the time he was done he had to start all over again. He really did want to know what was going on but his duty took priority.

Konoha needed him out in the field, doing what he did best, and that meant much more time away than he would have liked. Time that would have been even harder if he returned. So, buckling down into his work, he had managed to focus completely on the rest of the world for years now, confident that he would be informed of any major happenings- like a civil war- while he was away. The fact that Konoha didn't need info on Konoha, too, helped.

But by the gods, was it good to be back.

Traveling as Jiraiya was one thing, but most of his time was spent trying to keep a low profile- another reason to avoid being seen coming and going from Konoha- so he could watch the moments of potential threats without warning them that the world was indeed aware of them.

Akatsuki was one such example and, as of recently, so were the Wolves.

Information on Hi no Kuni as a whole was the closest to Konoha news he would collect and he would fully admit to be completely taken off guard at word that the very group that had started to catch his eye had managed to become a noble house in the Imperial Fire Court.

It was unexpected, to say the least.

At the same time, though, it had allowed him to relax slightly. Allied with Hi no Kuni as they were- and doing as well as they seemed to be- the chances of them holding any ill-will towards the village were pretty slim. For now at least.

That wasn't to say he had simply accepted them and focused completely on the rest of the world, but they certainly weren't a priority. The fact that they had rooted out Gato from Wave completely- even if they needed to work with him first to ensure they were completely successful- and the port town was starting to flourish under their protection were only points in their favor.

Admittedly, that's probably part of what got them favor with the Daimyo, too.

In that sense, he supposed he technically was trusting them a bit more than other potential threats because they had taken over a country. The Daimyo's favor was his initial reason, but that was just the result of the initial action.

He may have found time to frown at that thought if someone hadn't rudely interrupted him with their shout of "Pervert!".

Ah, just like old times.

* * *

The letter was crisp and clean, being of much higher quality than she was used to seeing. Ink that glistened even when undoubtedly dry penned with the elegant curves of a well-practiced wrist across the heavy paper, as if giving the letter itself more weight would somehow increase the impact of its contents.

' _Well,'_ Shizune idly mused. _'They weren't wrong.'_

Perhaps not in all cases would this be effective, but the heavy paper she now held made the writing seem far more real. She would be far less inclined to believe these written words if the letter had seemed more common, she would admit.

Of course, even with the careful attention to such a detail it was hard to believe this was actually happening. It wasn't even anything spectacular, just someone writing to inform her of their interest in her medical skills.

Not in the usual manner, which would be asking her – or, more specifically, her master- to make a housecall to treat some injured friend of family member, rather- as made abundantly clear in the letter- they sought to employ her.

The last time a request had reached her on similar paper it had come from a small family of nobles whose heir had fallen gravely ill. In this case, too, was the requester of a noble house, but instead of one injury they wished to offer her a permanent job as part of the household.

Were she to accept she would become part of this noble house, the official medic for the head- or so the letter claimed- and that was not something to be dismissed lightly.

Were her master's well-being not a concern she may have been tempted to take up the offer, but there was one more important part holding her back-

Her would-be employer was the House of Wolves of the Imperial Fire Court of Hi no Kuni.

She was, understandably, rather hesitant to accept a place amongst them.

Luckily, they seemed to anticipate that. The main offer was for her to join them fully, but they had also claimed a willingness to negotiate other arrangements for her services. One such suggestion was eight months of training some of their most promising medical personnel to bring them up to a higher standard- which, undoubtedly, she'd have been asked to do anyway as part of the house- which actually didn't sound too bad.

The promised pay looked good- to say nothing of the bonuses they would give her based on how well she was able to train their medics or the fact that all her expenses would be covered by them for the duration- and it would let her get a good feel for Hi no Kuni's newest noble house before she committed to anything further.

Unfortunately, she still had a master to take care of and, even if she didn't, her apprenticeship would not allow her to teach others until its conclusion.

For both of those, it looked like she was going to be needing to have a talk with Tsunade.

A sigh left Shizune's lips as she dropped the letter onto the table and rested her head against her hand. At long last, she had an opportunity for something new and exciting, but with her luck she'd be stuck here, bored out of her mind, as she had been since soon after their return to Konoha.

At least when Tsunade was drinking herself into a constant stupor to avoid memories and responsibilities Shizune had things to keep her busy. Running from debt collectors, making sure Tsunade ate something every so often, and keeping collateral damage to the minimum weren't fun, but it at least gave her a purpose. These days Tsunade just sat out in the garden sipping tea and occasionally crying.

It was an improvement to her previous habits, certainly, but she still wasn't doing anything to make up for the mistakes she had made and, unlike some, she still had the opportunity to do so here in Konoha. Neglecting to do so was pathetic and their return to Konoha had become a joke. Shizune may have felt pity for her master and the obvious distress she felt if she actually made an effort to correct it, but for now she couldn't even bring herself to do so.

Not for the first time she found herself regretting becoming apprenticed to the Sennin.

* * *

The Wolves, unsurprisingly, were always at the forefront of his mind. More specifically, he was always thinking about their future. An important part of that future required there to be Wolves which, naturally, meant they had to be bringing more into the pack .

Training orphaned children, much like Danzou had done, was a preferred method, allowing them to gain the proper skills and grow used to the pack mentality of his forces, but it was not an immediate answer.

At the moment, Naruto simply didn't have the years it would take to train the second generation of Wolves.

That meant he needed to bring people into the fold, allowing his pack to grow strong enough to wait those years it would take to bring the newest Wolves up to the proper standard. He would not- could not- make use of them until he was sure they could defend themselves just as well of his other operatives.

The cubs were precious and were to be protected until they were ready to take upon themselves the responsibilities of the pack.

Already his operatives were scouring the elemental nations for potential Wolves and gathering them together to be trained. Not in Nami no Kuni, of course, there was too much focus there at the moment, but his godmother had been more than happy to offer him an old lab she didn't make much use of as of late. It was a bit dated but his Wolves would have it transformed into a proper den soon enough.

Their future was being created, but they needed to stay around until it was achieved. For both that coming future and the method of maintaining their forces until they had successfully reached it there was a critical piece missing.

Or, rather, had been missing.

Purple eyes swept across his desk to land on the crisp white paper that held the solution he had been working on.

It hadn't been that hard for him but he hadn't exactly done most of the work.

Sealing, in all its glorious complexity, still escaped him completely. He was, however, starting to see the true scope of the potential his Father's seal possessed.

With but a thought a common storage seal- one of the few he was able to find instructions for creating- became the modified seal his Wolves wore. Another storage seal was placed beside it and he willed a seal that would create seals from wet ink. His seal was happy to comply. One last step had been needed, combining the desired seal with the new applicator, and the problem of inducting new members into the pack was solved.

All it would take was giving the seal to Sai or to some of the High-Captains and they would be able to apply it to any of those that were to become Wolves.

He would still need to meet with them to provide this newest seal but after that he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

Lightly he traced his creation, marveling at how easy the seal on his arm made things. The scary thing was he didn't even need to take those extra steps to create this. His father's legacy would have been able to change the starting seal straight to the applicator he had now. It was his own limitations, rather than the seal's, that stopped him from doing so.

By separating each part he could more properly focus on what he wanted the seals to do, avoiding errors that might cause issues later. Now, however, he had created a unique seal to serve a singular purpose. He had absolutely no doubts that were he to use the single-seal method he would achieve the desired results.

In the end, a problem that had needed to be addressed for weeks had been taken care of in just over twenty minutes. He really should have gone about this much sooner, especially considering the time he had on the trip to Hi no Kuni's capital, and it really was a shame he hadn't made proper use of his father's gift before now.

Changing the seal of the Wolves, changing the seal of Hinata, and removing the seal from Anko was all he had really done with it, and that was a terrible waste of such a marvelous recourse.

Thoughts of his uses for it, of course, reminded him of several things he still needed to use it for. The Wolf issue was solved, but he needed to get Hinata a seal to disable the Caged Bird seal of the Hyuuga as soon as he could. Nothing would have the cult of Hinata no Mikoto crumbling like their goddess not being able to do the very thing they believed her a goddess- or at least a personification of fate- for having done.

Once that was done, he still needed to look into Orochimaru's Ten no Juin like the one Anko had once borne. Orochimaru had already done an amazing job on them and he could only wonder what improvements would be possible with his own seal. The thought of all his Wolves possessing a backup chakra system was certainly a pleasant one.

And that brought him to his next train of thought- Anko.

He would admit to having become rather fond of the woman and his Wolves had also taken a liking to the Tokubetsu Jounin. She was an obvious candidate for becoming one of them and he was much inclined to make her the first official addition to the Wolves.

Considering he wanted it, it obviously couldn't be that simple.

She had already shown a dislike for seals and he wasn't certain if that was because the one who placed it on her had abandoned her and the village or perhaps just because Orochimaru had quite likely branded her with it without consent, but either way it lowered the likelihood of her accepting his own seal which was absolutely required for all members without exception.

Beyond that was the fact that he was working with Orochimaru.

Yeah, that was quite a bit bigger. She could continue as she was without the seal, but Orochimaru would affect her Wolf or no. He would have to make sure she was devoted enough to him to overlook her hatred for his godmother, otherwise he was going to have to cut her off from his Wolves and their work.

There was too much going on for him to overlook the security risk she could pose if she wasn't one hundred percent on their side.

And that is, of course, why the woman he had been thinking of was being escorted into his room now, her cheerful grin ready to meet her favorite Genin.

In all honesty, he really did hope she'd stay with him.

* * *

At Mei's insistence he had been perfectly transparent- or, at least, as transparent as he could afford to be considering one of his eyes was actually a Byakugan stolen from one of the clans that called this village home- to the guards at the front gate about the nature of his visit.

He desired to speak with the Wolves on behalf of the Bloodline faction of the Kiri civil war.

The looks he was shot by the Shinobi on duty Aō would almost swear were pitying. Nevertheless the Wolves were soon made known of his desire to meet him and he was soon finding himself in the presence of a Wolf operative who escorted him through the village and intro the seedier section, the kind of place he had not visited in many, many years.

A short, red building was there to meet them, standing out in how strangely plain it remained within this section of the village. There were no windows from which poured flashing lights of exotic colors, no open doors inviting patrons to enter. Two heavy black doors stared out at whoever might dare approach and as they drew near the doors opened to a pair of Wolves who proceeded to stand guard.

They didn't move as he and his escort passed and it wasn't until they were nearly to the next door- oddly, the only thing he could see within the building. Privacy was evidently a very important thing to the Wolves. He'd have to remember that.- that the first set closed, shutting with a strangely soft click just as the next set began to open.

He tried to ignore the guards standing in each corner beneath the glowing torches as he was lead down the large staircase-again, the only thing in here aside from the guards and the torches- into the building proper.

He briefly wondered if underground bases were simply all the rage for secret- or not so secret, perhaps- originations. He could certainly remember a good number of their own bases being bunkers that also dug deep both to keep out of sight and give attackers less ways to infiltrate.

Of course, it also tended to mean no way out if things went wrong.

Unfortunately, things tended to go wrong when it came to the Bloodline resistance.

As much as he wanted as little to do with as possible with the man, Zabuza was onto something. There was no reason to have so many people in on the leading of the rebellion and at least one of them had to be a spy.

He personally believed five but Zabuza was more inclined to say seven. Chōjūrō, naïve young man that he was, only said three because the two older Shinobi wouldn't let him bet one.

The fact that Chōjūrō probably didn't want to be part of it in the first place was entirely inconsequential.

Well, until Mei hears about it, at least. She was strangely protective of the boy, probably because she enjoyed how often he flushed around her. He had no doubt it helped keep her spirits up. The fact that he was to be the first of an entirely new generation of Swordsman of the Mist was also pretty big, but it probably lost to boosting Mei's mood regularly.

That said, were anyone to actually ask him he would always claim it was because of Chōjūrō's status, and perhaps add something about being one of the youth they were trying to make future for. There was no way in hell he wanted to be on Mei's bad side.

Ever.

She'd threatened to melt balls off before but it never really meant much until you saw her actually do it to someone.

He hadn't been able to sleep facing the door for weeks.

Luckily, Zabuza hadn't fared any better.

* * *

She peered curiously at the young man behind the desk, watching as he poured over stacks of papers that completely filled the desk. Stacked together, one could probably clear about half of the space he was using but it was obvious the manner he went about it had something to do with organization, a skill Anko herself had never really possessed.

Purple eyes had only briefly glanced up at her upon her entry before returning to work, only taking the time to put away a single sheet of parchment into one of his desk drawers. Either it was something he didn't want to risk losing or something he simply didn't want her to see. Quite possibly both.

She was unperturbed by that, really. Working in the T&I department of Konoha had her intimately familiar with matters of sensitive information and how protected some of it could be. Knowing, too, that he worked closely with the Wolves- and was rather high up the hierarchy based on how they treated him- meant it was probably something to do with the shadowy organization.

If they had trusted him with important information of a sensitive nature she couldn't blame him for making sure it stayed away from curious eyes that didn't have the proper clearance to view it.

Or, whatever equivalent they had for the release of such information. She didn't suspect they were formal enough for set clearances and they struck her as more of a need-to-know kind of operation but she really wouldn't be able to say considering she wasn't at all part of the group.

With a final shuffling of papers that brought her from her thoughts, Naruto set about partially clearing his desk, handing folders of completed work to a Wolf that had stood patiently by his side for that very purpose. The wolf gave a quick bow, folders held tightly to their chest, before leaving the room.

The click of the door left just the two of them- and two Wolf guards- within the room. For a moment the young man before her relaxed further into his chair, breathing a sigh of relief at having completed some of his work, but he soon resumed proper posture within his chair. Fingers became intertwined between his hands and found themselves supporting his chin as he took a brief pause to look her over.

There was something about his eyes that seemed to see right through you and they were obviously too old to belong to a Genin who hadn't even graduated a year ago. By village standards he still should have been doing D-rank missions with the occasional two or three day C-rank once or twice a month. The rest of his time was expected to be spent training with his team and developing the bonds that would allow them to work together better in the field.

Of course, Naruto had never been standard in any way.

Still, there was something about his stare that made her feel uneasy. Not normally, no, she quite liked his eyes and the maturity he possessed- it was a nice contrast to her own nature- but there was something in his gaze she couldn't put her finger on today, almost as if he was trying to judge her worth for a decision he was making. Considering she knew nothing about any decision he may or may not have to make she didn't know how she would want to be judged.

After a few seconds- which felt much, much longer to the Tokubetsu Jounin- his voice- possessing the same feel of authority it always did- broke the temporary silence.

"Thank you for coming Anko." He began. "There was something I'd like to speak with you about."

"No problem, boss." She grinned back at him. From the stiffening of the two guards and the spark of curiosity she was able to identify in his eyes for the barest of instances they hadn't really taken it as the joke she had intended. Her attempt to lighten up the atmosphere had, evidently, failed spectacularly and she remained feeling as if she had been called into someone's office for misbehavior. Maybe 'Sensei' would have gone over better, because this was really reminding her of the many times she had been called in to a teacher's office during her academy days and again when she was summoned by her superiors as a Chuunin after that bastard had left her.

She didn't get called in as much ever since she became a Tokubetsu Jounin, but she always dreaded when she did. Ibiki had always been a hard-ass.

Her words, however, did at least seem to give Naruto pause as he thought of the best way to continue.

"You know, of course, that I am heavily involved with the Wolves." His guards snickered quietly at the understatement. "Which is why I needed to speak with you about someone from your past."

She rose a brow, not knowing, exactly, who he was speaking of yet. The first person she thought of- the same person who was pretty much synonymous with her past- she hoped she could dismiss completely from being a possibility. She didn't seem to be that lucky.

"As I understand it, you and your former…teacher…did not separate on the best of terms." That earned him a snort from her. He had, at least, refrained from calling that bastard her master, but already she wasn't really liking where this was going.

Ignoring her snort, he continued on.

"The Snake-Sennin has recently approached the Wolves about working with them in Wave and, no doubt, across the continent in the future." A grave heaviness entered his eyes as he posed the actual question. "Will you be able to work with the Wolves knowing that they will, in turn, be working alongside the likes of Orochimaru? Would you be able to work alongside their allies, those loyal to Orochimaru, possibly including the Sannin themself?"

"Work with that bastard?" Her words were practically hissed. "Never!" That man had ruined her life, and he had the gall to ask if she would be able to work with the Wolves should they ally with him?

Some small part of her remembered that the Wolves served as Naruto's protection both in day to day affairs and even on most missions they went on, but that hardly seemed important at the moment.

"Ah, I see." His words were calm, understanding, even, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow disappointed in her. The guards, relaxing casually against the walls, were standing at attention as soon as Naruto had spoken, their eyes fixed firmly upon her.

There was something about this whole situation that seemed to escape her at the moment, just out of reach, but the reactions of the three others in the room with her made her feel uneasy.

"Thank you for your time Anko, please pass on my regards to Kurenai when next to see her." It was quite plainly a dismissal and she found a Wolf by her arm to escort her out a mere second after the worlds had left his lips. This was not at all what she had become used to with the Wolves or her favorite Genin.

He didn't spare her another glance as he began on what work remained on his table, but she still felt as though she had been judged-

Judged and found wanting.

* * *

"Kin?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I just see Mitarashi Anko getting escorted out of the apartment?" Being Orochimaru's former apprentice, Anko was one of the few outsiders those of Otogakure were briefed upon during their training. Considering the fact that she carried a massive grudge against Orochimaru, however, that was to be expected.

"Purple hair like a pineapple and wearing only half the amount of cloth it would take to be considered dressed decently? It's likely."

"Huh." He knew she was part of Konoha, of course, they all did, really, but he still hadn't expected her to run into her quite so much. As the second examiner was odd enough, but now she was being seen in the very place Orochimaru had left them for their month stay between the second and third exam?

Unless their host was playing both sides Dosu couldn't imagine what he'd be doing having that woman over when he was both allied with Orochimaru and hosting three of her Shinobi. Anko's hate of the Snake-Sennin was well known and keeping the two of them in close proximity was just asking for trouble.

Then again, maybe that's why she had just been escorted out.

Shrugging the thought away for now, he continued on his way as he resumed his search for the kitchens. He was used to rations well enough that food wasn't much of a concern but he'd kill for a nice cup of tea after that damn exam. Zaku was, unsurprisingly, crashed out on the bed he had been provided and hadn't even bothered to change his clothes or wash up first. Kin, as usual, was simply trailing behind him.

She really was his favorite minion.

Though that wasn't saying much considering he only had two and the other was Zaku. Even that fat Konoha Gennin who had his ass handed to him by the Konoha girl with the chakra chains probably would have made a better minion than the moronic hothead he had been teamed up with.

Having Kin as his other teammate almost made up for it, but not quite.

Following the hallways back towards the front of the apartment- the setup here was really strange, almost as if it was a combination of apartments that had never been intended to be combined- where he thought he had caught a glimpse of kitchen appliances he managed to locate the desired room.

A single Wolf leaned against the far wall next to the kitchen window and their head tilted only slightly to watch them as they entered. Dosu took the fact that they did nothing to deter him from entering as indication that they were, at least, not forbidden from entering the room. Whether or not their host wanted them here was an entirely different matter but at least the guards hadn't been instructed to stop them.

Which was good, because Dosu really wanted his tea, almost as much as he wanted a nap. Both of those were only desired slightly above smacking Zaku for his earlier behavior.

Maybe, if they were really lucky, their host would become as fed up with the Genin as his teammates were. It would be nice to see someone put the arrogant snotrag in his place, especially because Orochimaru had been polite enough not to do it in someone else's domain.

If her eyes had been anything to go by, that was really the only thing that had kept her from lashing out at the boy who had shown such disrespect as to begin dozing in a chair he hadn't even been invited to take when he knew very well his master was arranging their stay in the next room.

The scary part is that Dosu heavily suspected she was more upset that their host had been disrespected than the fact that he had not been at attention to show her the proper respect.

He still couldn't get over the fact that their host was probably younger than them and yet Orochimaru was so obviously concerned with keeping in his favor.

With that considered, however, they had been a pretty decent host so far. It wasn't saying much, seeing as they had yet to spend a full day in his home, but that was actually an improvement from what he had heard of others who had his master's favor.

Dragged away for experimentation five minutes after arriving? No, thank you, he was just fine being shown his room- which he, unfortunately, would be sharing with Zaku- and then being left to his own devices.

Well, he said that, but it really meant he was shown to his rooms and then completely ignored.

Either way was fine with him.

Digging through the cabinets he managed to find some tea and a teapot was already cleaned and waiting on counter to be used. Obviously, it saw quite a bit of use for them not to bother storing it in one of the cabinets.

Such frequent use didn't seem to indicate a connoisseur of tea so much as it did someone who regularly had many people- or perhaps just Wolves- over, if the generic store-brand tea was anything to go by. At least the leaves were in a small plastic pouch with a seal of Hi no Kuni- which wasn't exactly known for producing tea, which meant it was likely some local family business that managed to stay around on the merit of convenience- rather than in a can that read something along the lines of 'Made With Real Tea-Country Tea Leaves!'.

He had only made that particular mistake once.

Never again.

 **Never.**

 **Again.**

Grateful for small mercies- like actual tea leaves even if they weren't the best- Dosu busied himself with preparing the pot. Kin, meanwhile, made herself comfortable at the small table. It didn't look like any more than four people could sit around it and even then it might be a bit cramped. Rather odd, he idly noticed, considering how many people must go through this building daily.

Perhaps he had formal dining room of some sort further into the home, though why that would be in the back opposed to having the personal kitchen and dining area sequestered away privately he wasn't going to even ponder.

As soon as he deemed the tea ready he claimed a couple of cups from the cabinet before pausing and turning to the guard who hadn't moved anything more than his head since their arrival.

Raising both the teapot and one eyebrow- bandaged as it might be- in a silent question he received an equally silent response with the shaking of the Wolve's head in the negative. Giving a shrug, he brought the cups and the teapot to the table before pouring both for himself and his favorite minion.

As both he and his teammate sat drinking tea in a stranger's home, one they had been instructed to stay with by Orochimaru herself, he tried not to think about how strange this felt. It was such a simple thing they were doing, so basic, so common, that he couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with the situation.

Perhaps that was a sign that it was time for a vacation.

Pondering the options he had- not many, unfortunately, considering his meager savings- he nearly missed the fact that they were joined in the kitchen by a fourth person. He was immediately glad that he had caught their arrival as it turned out to be none other than their host himself. Both he and Kin rose to stand but were quickly waved off in a manner that was somewhere between lazy and distracted in a way that made Dosu suspect their host might not have even registered that he had done so.

He had to wonder how many times you had to stop people from rising at your approach that it became second nature to stop them before they could.

Their host- he really should start calling them 'Naruto', at least in his head- opened one of the cabinets and was, moments later, sitting at the table between he and Kin. Dosu couldn't help but notice how the guard moved immediately to stand in front of the window his own master was facing instead of beside it where he had remained for the past several minutes.

He supposed the theory was any attack aimed at their host would first hit the Wolf. Dosu had the feeling the Guard would actually prefer Naruto to be kept in a room without windows, but would make due until they could convince the red-haired young man to relocate to such a location.

Naruto poured himself a cup of tea, one brow rising as he watched the liquid enter his cup. Stopping short, he gave it a sniff, both eyes narrowing in suspicion. Dosu momentarily feared their host suspected some sort of poison. It would be just his luck to find himself with someone Orochimaru likes that isn't a psycho only for them to end up being horribly paranoid and prone to bouts of violence when they felt threatened.

That theory was quickly dashed when Naruto proceeded to take a small sip. From the look of disgust that crossed his face he wasn't impressed. Their host grabbed his own cup and the entire pot before moving back into the kitchen proper. Without prompting the Wolf left his position blocking the window to confiscate the cups of both he and his favorite minion.

He ignored Kin's confused look in favor of turning in his seat to observe their host and the Wolf at work. The masked operative set about dumping out the tea Dosu had just made and carefully washed the teapot followed quickly by the cups. No sooner than the teapot was finished did Naruto begin preparing tea himself.

Dosu had spoken too soon earlier- _now_ things were getting strange.

Their host, one they had been foisted upon by Orochimaru herself, was, well, hosting. It should speak rather poorly for the others who Orochimaru had chosen to leave subordinates with, but considering that such was normal to Shinobi of Otogakure it only ended up speaking well about Orochimaru's favored.

Not only that, whatever Dosu had managed to prepare was obviously not around for guests for even now their host withdrew leaves from a dark red tin to make his own tea. It was only the fact that the tea had been taken from them that made Dosu suspect the tea he made wasn't good enough for any of them instead of just their host. If Naruto had just needed a better cup he had the feeling they would have been left with the tea they had poured and Naruto would have made some more for himself.

Even if he was reading it wrong, it looked like there was better tea in the household and he and Kin just might be permitted to have some. He had been fully prepared to accept his own lackluster brew as the best he was going to get, so this was shaping up to be a rather pleasant surprise.

Something equally true for both the tea and their host who was preparing it. If this was how things were around here regularly than he would be happy to take care of anything Orochimaru needed done in Konoha so he could stay here with what was obviously the most pleasant of her allies.

It wasn't long before their host had finished their task and returned to the table, their guard taking up his spot before the window once more. Three cups were poured, first to Kin, then to him, and finally to the guard before their host poured his own cup. Despite having served the other three first, none of them moved to take a sip until after Naruto had.

As Naruto relaxed into his own chair, Dosu took a sip from his cup and immediately noticed the difference in quality. Oh, yes, this was much better. If things continued like this, he suspected he was going to enjoy his stay here. If Kin's pleasantly surprised expression was anything to go by, his favorite minion would be too.

For the first time since he had become a Shinobi of Otogakure under Orochimaru of the Sannin Dosu found himself pleased by his orders.

He might not be able to afford a vacation, but this would do.

* * *

 **See you all next time.**


	55. The Gallant Jiraiya

**Yep, still alive.**

 **I've actually had this chapter almost complete for probably abut a month now, I just needed to finish the last scene. My first mistress, however, had different ideas and I've been spending my time on nothing but Videogames for weeks now.**

 **In all honesty, booting Skyrim back up was probably a bad idea and needing to grind up to endgame so I could be of use to the MMO guild my coworkers were part of certainly didn't help. Still, it's been nagging at me to finish it for a while and a PM from Justaz reminded me, yet again, that I have people depending on me for new chapters.**

 **So I got home today, sat down, and cranked out the rest of the chapter. Luckily ncpfan was available to look it over and was able to get back to me very quickly.**

 **You're all probably eager to continue on to the chapter so I won't keep you.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

 **Let's get started.**

* * *

Jiraiya groaned, his neck cracking and back popping as he forced his body from the unforgiving ground. It had been, in his opinion, slightly more understanding than the women he had managed to anger, but that didn't exactly mean much.

He was aware that the girl- for the voice that had brought upon him this misfortune was too young for its owner to be a woman- was still standing there waiting to be acknowledged after his latest beating. By the way her foot tapped the ground impatiently he knew her arms were folded before her and chances were she was scowling down at him like Tsunade used to so many years ago.

Pulling into a crouch, he glanced at the one who had ratted him out only to be met with more orange than one should ever consider wearing. Orange skirt, orange top, and orange sandals covering a girl with the bluest eyes he had seen since Minato. The hair, too, was a match, and the chakra he could feel from her made it pretty obvious who she was.

There was, after all, only one clan whose children had that much chakra.

"My, Naruko, is that any way to greet your Godfather after all these years?" He asked, coming to his feet. Gods, was she short- or maybe he had just gotten even taller over the last decade. He'd need to find a few other Genin to compare. "Can't an old man even get a hug?"

She looked him up and down.

"You're Jiraiya?" Well, she didn't have to go and sound all disappointed by it. He was tempted, briefly, to perform his introduction routine but managed to refrain.

"Yeah, kid, I'm Jiraiya. You can't tell me you expected me to be taller." Because, really, he was tall. Damn tall. Especially compared to this squirt.

"I didn't think you'd be so old." He gave her a blank look.

"I'm an S-rank Shinobi who could kick a team of Jounin to Iwa and back before lunch and who was practically a father to the Yondaime Hokage. I may be old enough to have a Genin grandchild but don't doubt for a second I'm still in my prime." His own arms crossed his broad chest as he stared down at his godchild for the first time in a little over a decade. She really had grown in that time, but she was still such a tiny thing. Compared to him, at least. Luckily, he no longer needed to worry about crushing her in his hands when Kushina made him hold her.

Not that such a situation was likely to occur these days.

The blonde gave an irritated huff.

"Whatever, I suppose I haven't met you yet because you've been peeking through fences these past years?"

"No, I've been peeking through everything. That's my job." In more ways than one, really. "And I seem to recall hearing that someone was out traipsing the world these past years."

She looked sheepish at having that pointed out, her cheeks reddening and her hand coming to scratch the back of her head nervously.

"Well, yeah." She mumbled. The sheepish look melted into something more accusing. "But we were only gone a few years, I don't seem to recall seeing you before we left."

It was his turn to scratch the back of his head.

"You've got me there, I suppose. Like I said, I was working, and though I kept trying to track you down when I had free time I never quite managed to before work called again."

"Huh? You tried to meet up with us?" She looked surprised, which had Jiraiya making a facial expression that was very near pouting.

"Of course I did!" He objected the very idea that he might not have made an attempt to meet his godchild and the woman who had married a boy he thought of as a son.

"Ah." She looked a bit abashed at learning that and Jiraiya released a sigh.

"Come on, kid. Let's go visit your family. It's high time we all got re-acquainted." Even as he said that he had reached down, his large hands encircling her waist, and pulled her onto one of his large shoulders. Because of this, it was impossible for him to miss how she tensed when he mentioned meeting the family.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Erm, Kyoufu, how much have you heard from Konoha over the past four years?"

Jiraiya _**really**_ didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

"Thank you for your patience." The voice was young, much younger than Ao had been expecting, and the speaker's face was hidden behind the visage of a snarling wolf. Female, undoubtedly, the girl was probably only in her mid-teens.

Despite that, she walked into the room with unwavering confidence, as if she had done this many times before. He other Wolves, guards that appeared much older than she, did not try to stop or hinder her in any way. In fact, they seemed to stand up straighter at her approach, moving close to the walls to provide her all the space her passing would require.

Which, honestly, wasn't much, and there was no real reason for them to move, but the gesture did speak clearly about her authority.

Young or not, she was supposed to be here and the fact that this was a meeting about getting support for a war meant the young woman before him carried much more weight than would have been proper back in his day.

"It's perfectly alright. Back in my day we would have gone to the capital to petition for an audience but Mei was adamant I come straight to you."

"She sounds very direct." He could hear the smile behind the mask. "Tsukiyomi-Sama would appreciate that. He may stick to the shadows, but he likes to get straight to the point."

"Still, it's just not proper to show up unannounced, especially when we're looking for help."

"And that's why they have us, no?" She took the seat across from him at the table, placing several folders and a pad of paper down as she retrieved a pen from somewhere in her clothes. With a click of the pen she prompted; "So, tell me about the situation in Kiri."

And so he did.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that Zabuza may have been more right about these Wolves than was good for the resistance. Even though their eyes were mostly hidden, he could have sworn he felt the hunger of the Wolves in the room as he told them of their plight.

He just hoped that in this case Yagura was to be the flock they would devour, because they couldn't afford more enemies.

* * *

When a young woman in a Wolf mask entered the room, folders clutched tightly to her chest, their host was quick to excuse himself and usher her into his office. Kin wasn't too surprised when the Wolf that had been blocking the window moved to follow them and stationed himself against the closed office door to ensure their privacy.

She shared a quick look with her team leader, both of them agreeing to leave it alone without words. It wasn't any of their business and they were damn sure that if Orochimaru wanted them to be spying on their host, one she had made extremely clear was important to her, the snake Sannin would have damn-well told them so. Seeing as she didn't, they weren't about to risk angering the Wolves, their host, and Orochimaru by prying into private matters.

The third member of their team chose that moment to emerge from his own rooms and took a seat at the table where their host had been only moments before. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact and as he poured more tea into their host's half-filled cup they shared another look, pleased that he had not been around while their host was present.

Briefly, Kin pondered the merits of having Zaku attempt to gain entrance into their host's- she really needed to start thinking of him by his name, or at least by some sort of title- private study. If they were really lucky Zaku would be eliminated and both she and Dosu could enjoy a month of relaxation under the graciousness of their host- Naruto- without having to worry about the buffoon doing something stupid.

Then again, Zaku was bad enough that it might anger Naruto to a point where she and Dosu were also on the wrong end of his ire. Which, of course, would mean they were on the wrong side of Orochimaru's ire, too, should they live that long. That was not a good place to be.

She noted that Dosu actually looked between Zaku and the distant door a few times before shaking his head to himself, no doubt having been thinking along similar lines. It was a pity that a team needed three members and that there were so few Shinobi in Otogakure. Were their ready replacements, she knew it would be an easy matter to convince Dosu to help her dispose of the body.

Then again, with the look Orochimaru had shot him before she left- Kin wasn't even going to ponder what it was she was off to go do- it was likely that the Snake Sage would be happy to replace him, too, if that was an option.

Her eyes moved to the guard at Naruto's door and back to Dosu as a thought struck her.

"The Wolves seem to vary widely in range, don't they Dosu?"

"Hm?" He turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye as he considered her question. "I suppose they do."

She hummed slightly, a thinking noise that was more to catch her team leader's attention than any sort of habit. "You don't think that with Orochimaru's alliance we might be able to borrow one, do you?" She looked pointedly at their third teammate who, disinterested in the conversations topic, was completely oblivious.

"Oh?" Dosu seemed to perk up a bit at her words, casting his own speculative gaze between Zaku and the Wolf standing guard. "Maybe. How long did you think you might need one?"

"Oh, if things go well maybe six months or so?"

He grunted in acknowledgement, his eyes glinting in approving amusement at her idea. It was some coincidence that Chuunin exams were held twice annually and that he had managed to get into the last part of this one. Having a Wolf during that time would be just long enough for them to graduate from Genin status and instead become full-fledged Shinobi, free to take contracts with whoever else they pleased.

"Think they'd go for it?"

"Couldn't hurt to try, but I'd take whatever opportunity you can find to butter him up if you intend to ask." His part said, he returned to his tea. She could still see the amusement that danced in his eyes.

"Keep him away." Kin agreed with a pointed look to Zaku. "And I may be able to arrange something."

He grinned into his cup.

"Deal."

* * *

"Really?" He didn't quite believe it. "They're coming to us?"

Mai nodded in confirmation.

"They are." A slight frown found its way onto her face. "He even admitted that Zabuza was part of the group and had adamantly argued against it."

"And they still want our help?" He shook his head, his eyes gazing out a window he never had back at his office in the Den. "I don't like it. How bad is the situation? It obviously can't be looking good for them if they would disregard advice from someone like Momochi Zabuza."

Her frown deepened.

"That's the odd thing. According to his words they're in a pretty even deadlock at the moment with Yagura's regime. They understand that they don't have much time before that changes because the Mizukage has more resources at his disposal and will be able to gain the upper hand once he commits more to the bloodline war. At the moment he's using the deadlock to reduce the rebellions actions while he and his village recovers. By the looks of things, they don't have any more than eight months before things escalate again."

"So," He clarified. "Not bad now, but it will be."

"That's correct."

With a sigh Naruto turned from the window and took his seat, his thumb and middle finger coming to massage his temples. "What I still don't get is why they're coming to us."

His hand dropped to his desk, right next to the multitude of folders Mai had brought with her.

"They have very little to offer us at the moment, they know- or at least Zabuza does- that we work according to our own interests, they have time to find the support of other groups, and we would be up against not just an entire village, but the rightful Kage. As long as their Daimyo hasn't declared against Yagura and his regime then I would be in a pretty awkward position as the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni."

"I fully agree, the whole situation is against us."

Naruto shook his head.

"No," He disagreed. "Not all of it." He paused for a long moment.

"Just the rebellion's side of it."

"So you propose..." She didn't want to assume, but she knew exactly where he was going with his thoughts.

"Send out an envoy to Yagura. Scope out the situation to ensure it matches with what we know and, if it does, offer him our services. If the rebellion is right and Yagura is looking for a boost to his strength before continuing this bloodline civil war of his than he may have just found it."

"Of course, should I have notice sent to the Fire Daimyo?"

"No, I'll let him know of my intentions personally during the third exam. "

"Gennin Naruto's not going, then?" There was no advantage at the moment to announcing his identity and so it would remain secret until some benefit was to be had. Still, she would have liked to see him get out for something other than work.

"Afraid not, I'll be with the other nobles. Send word to Hana, if you've the time. As Nami no Kuni's governor I'd like to introduce them. I'll think of something to keep her identity hidden."

"Anything else?"

"That will be all for now, Mai."

"Very well, I'll see to it immediately Tsukiyomi-Sama." She gave a brief bow and turned to leave, pausing only at the sound of her lord's voice.

"Oh, and Mai?"

She turned to face him, a single brow raising.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. If you need a break let me know, I don't want to work you into the ground." She nearly laughed. If anyone would find themselves run into the ground it was him. Less and less he made appearances as Genin Naruto since he became Daimyo and he had spent increasing amounts of time locked away in his study pouring over endless piles of paperwork.

When he had started getting more finished she had stopped taking so much of his own workload onto herself and as time went on she had begun to give him some of her own. She was regretting that lately. Beside his guard, few saw him these days and whatever dream of being a Shinobi he had once possessed had been practically thrown away so he could focus entirely upon his Wolves.

The Major problem with that, which she could see now, was that the Wolves, as a whole, had no defined goal and that meant there was no end for him to work towards. So, instead, he just kept working.

He had short term goals, of course, but he would just find more and more. By providing him with more work he was now under the impression that there was much more to be done in order to provide for the Wolves. Admirable, yes, but not beneficial for him as a person. The worst part was that now, having come to the conclusion that his position had more work associated with it, even if she were to stop sending her work his way he would just make more for himself to complete lest he feel as though he wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities.

As much as she enjoyed using her new found free time to visit Tsume, Tsukuyomi-no, Naruto- was far more important to her. And while he seemed, if not happy, at least content with the arrangement where he had the opportunity to care for his children, she wanted more for him. They were the ones who were supposed to be caring and providing for him, the one who gave them purpose again.

The responsibility of his position lay heavy upon his neck and she resolved to find some way to remove the weight of his burden so he could be Naruto once more, the young man they had all sworn to serve.

She did not, however, voice such thoughts.

"Of course, Naruto-Sama. I'll let you know if it becomes too much for me to handle." She bowed once again but spoke before leaving. "You haven't seen Yugao-San in a while, have you? You should pay her a visit soon, a friendly spar would probably do you good."

He smiled softly at her suggestion.

"Don't worry about me, Mai, I'll be fine. And you're right, that does sound lovely. I'll see if I can sneak away for a few hours sometime soon."

It was better than nothing.

Returning his smile, she bowed quickly once more before knocking on the door to announce her exit, her mask sliding back over her face with practiced ease even as the wooden barrier that had provided their privacy swung away.

She needed to come up with some way to help her lord, hopefully one she could implement before the invasion. Maybe Tsume would have some ideas.

* * *

The television was on again, some stupid gameshow Anko couldn't produce half enough effort to understand cheering in the background.

Her favorite jacket- because despite what people tended to think she did own more than one, this one had an extra pocket and a holster for a kunai on either side- was slung haphazardly across the couch and her shoeless feet worked tirelessly to put a groove in her hardwood floors.

Something about her meeting with Naruto nagged at the back of her mind, calling attention to something she couldn't quite identify. Despite the fact that he should have known better to question whether she could work with Orochimaru after what the bastard had done to her he had still asked and she had the feeling that he was disappointed at her answer.

At least he hadn't tried to beat around the bush about it. Her anger at having been asked at all lessened slightly at the fact that he hadn't attempted to hide it at all. She knew, logically, that she would have reacted much worse had she discovered it on her own.

Still, why did he need to team up with Orochimaru at all, and what did that have to do with her. The Wolves were, well, she didn't actually know what they were. Naruto's private army, certainly, but that seemed to be their only purpose. Considering that Naruto seemed more concerned with their wellbeing than working towards any sort of goal she had been able to identify only made it more strange that he would consider working with Orochimaru, especially when he already had her.

Then again, it wasn't Naruto who was working with Orochimaru, but the Wolves under the command of Tsukiyomi. He was doing what he thought was best for those under his command and she couldn't really fault him for that. But what did the Wolves working with them have to do with her? Yeah, they had a tendency to come on missions she took with Naruto, but she really wouldn't consider herself working with them.

In that case, they would just have to not take any of his guards and if that meant they could no longer go on missions together it wouldn't mean she couldn't hang out in his apartment or that they couldn't get together every now and again for a friendly spar.

Files and folders, kept carefully out of her view, briefly crossed her thoughts. Already the matters of the Wolves were kept confidential, but now it would be dealing with matters related to the Snake Sannin as well. There was a team in his apartment when she left, too. Foreigners. Were they associated with Orochimaru? And if so, did that mean there might be others in the apartment from now on who were loyal to her former teacher?

She winced slightly at the memory of the Wolves who escorted her out. Before he had given them the command to do so they had tensed up and they were quick to make sure she left the premise. Spending time in the apartment was no longer an option, it seemed, but she still didn't know why that might be considered working with the Wolves.

Unless it wasn't.

The realization struck in a sudden bolt of clarity she cursed herself for not noticing before.

It wasn't about the current arrangement they had, Naruto had wanted to know if she could work with Orochimaru because he wanted her to work with his Wolves. Whether that was to be an offer of induction into the Wolves or if he was simply saying he wanted her services personally – as she still wasn't sure what his place amongst the Wolves really was, though she had her suspicions- she had been offered a position closer to him.

And she had turned it down.

Anko let out a deep groan as she surrendered at her task of wearing down the floors and instead fell bonelessly onto her couch.

Well, shit.

No wonder he seemed disappointed.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he collapsed into the grass, the sun just starting to touch Konoha's gate and a soft breeze kind enough to cool him on its way past.

"I know it's been a bit since our last spar but I was not expecting to be that out of practice." He admitted. She gave a quiet laugh at that before sitting beside him on the grass.

"You should have, do you even train regularly anymore?" She asked.

"Haven't the time." Naruto admitted. He didn't need to see her face to know that one of Yugao's eyebrows had raised in question.

"Haven't the time to train? You're a Shinobi, training should be your life because your life's going to goddamn well depend on the training you've done."

"Other things have come up." He countered. "As it is I'm rethinking being a Shinobi at all."

"What?!" She leaned over him, peering down with narrowed eyes and silently prompting him to elaborate on his statement.

"I decided to be a Shinobi years ago, but things have changed and my priorities have too. Being a Shinobi might not be the best way to accomplish what I need to do."

"And what might that be?"

He was silent for a moment, contemplating, before releasing a gentle sigh.

"I can't tell you."

"Ah." She nodded once in understanding. It was an open secret amongst the Shinobi elite that Naruto had ties to the Wolves and this was obviously connected to them in some way. Most of the Shinobi force of Konoha had their suspicions, naturally, but those higher up knew without a doubt that if you needed the Wolves you should go to Naruto and if you went against Naruto you went against the Wolves.

No one actually knew what his relationship to them was, but it was certainly very important to Hi no Kuni's newest Noble House.

"At least," He spoke up after a moment, breaking the silence. "Not yet. Perhaps when things calm down a bit."

That was interesting, and she found her curiosity peaked. Not only was it the chance of learning more, but he had also said that the Wolves were currently up to something big. They had just taken over a country and become a noble house, so what could they be doing now beneath everyone's noses?

"When things calm down, then." She confirmed.

Naruto smiled softly. Anko might not have been suitable, based on her response, but she wasn't the only one he had been considering.

He was the father of the Wolves, and that was important, but that wasn't all he was and he needed to remember that. His responsibilities were to more than a single group and so he required a group that was also separate if he wanted any chance of making everything work.

"Of course, Yugao-Sempai."

* * *

Wading through a sea of grass that came well past his waist- which was rather high considering his stature- with Naruko sitting nervously on his shoulder, he couldn't help but wonder what could have distracted Kushina from taking care of something like this.

She had always done her best to keep the house in good condition between missions and during the first months of her pregnancy and when she got farther along she made sure to have Minato perform the tasks until she was satisfied with the results. Even if she hadn't wanted to return the yard to its former state upon her return- and its upkeep seems to be something she had overlooked- it only took a few minutes to drop off a mission request to have some poor Genin group spend their day doing it for her.

With two courteous raps of his knuckles on the door- to announce his wondrous presence- he stooped low enough to not risk Naruko's head as he entered the home his student had purchased all those years ago to start his new life with his fiancé in.

The inside was more maintained than the exterior, which was to be expected with Kushina, but it still fell short of her usual standards. She never kept thing immaculate, by any means, but the difference was still quite noticeable. Then again, he was a spy, details were second only to air in his duties.

"Alright Squirt, gather the others. I'm sure they both missed me." A dry look crossed her face momentarily as she rolled her eyes.

"Kaa-chan might have, but I'd expect better of her. We've already established that I've never met you when old enough to remember you so how could Naruto-Nii?"

"Bah, details. Even if they don't miss me I'm sure they'd like to visit with the gallant Jiraiya."

She rolled her eyes once more and sighed as she hopped off his shoulder, waving one hand over her shoulder dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever old man. I'll get Kaa-chan."

As luck would have it, there was no need.

"Naruko-Chan?" Came her mother's call, her voice getting louder as she approached from the back of the house. "Is that you? I thought I heard a man's voice-" She entered the room to see someone she had honestly not expected to see. With him out of the village so much, she hadn't actually thought about him in quite some time."

"Hey, Kushina." Grinned Jiraiya. "Long time no see. Miss me?"

Her dry look was exactly identical to her daughters.

"You haven't changed, I see, Ero-Jiji" Her former husband, gods rest his soul, may have seen the man as a father figure, but with his hair and less than proper behavior he had always seemed like a perverted grandfather to her. The fact that it always irritated him was only ever a bonus.

"Of course not!" He protested, puffing out his chest. "I'm as incredible as ever."

Kushina crossed her arms over her chest, the barest of grins twitching at her lips.

"So still incredibly lacking, then?"

"Ouch." Jiraiya grasped his chest. "That tongue of yours is as sharp as ever, Kushina. I'll never understand why you're so mean to me."

"Because someone has to counter your ego and remind you that you're nowhere near what you think of yourself as."

He thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Fair enough. So, where's Naruto?"

Much like her daughter, Kushina immediately tensed up at the mention of the third family member.

"How much have you heard from Konoha while you were gone."

That was the second time he had been asked that very question and he liked it even less now.

"Almost nothing, really. My job is to bring outside information in, if I'm too caught up with Konoha's affairs I risk missing other important things throughout the Elemental Nations. I did hear about Hi no Kuni's newest Noble House, though. They make their home here in Konoha, don't they?"

Both Uzumaki women winced.

Now it was Jiraiya's turn to fold his arms over his chest.

"Okay, what did I miss?"

"Come, let's go into the sitting room." Without waiting for a response Kushina left the room, Naruko trailing behind. With no other choice, Jiraiya followed them and took a seat on one of the couches. Naruko and Kushina were seated on the other and in another situation they might have found humor in the fact that Jiraiya and his broad build took up almost half of the couch.

Kushina fell silent for a few moments, gathering her thoughts, before she started.

"Four years ago, we were advised by a Medic-Nin that due to having been conceived within a Jinchuriki Naruto ran an increased risk of developing a chakra dependence. Naruko, actually holding the chakra of the Kyuubi in her own seal, wouldn't have to worry about it, but because Naruto didn't have that benefit- his own seal only acting as one wall of the cage- being around the Kyuubi's chakra could disrupt his own developing chakra system and make it almost impossible for him to ever be outside the presence of Naruko or, because my chakra system still has remnants of the Kyuubi's own chakra, myself."

She looked to him to make sure he was following and was met by a frown and a nod, indicating he had heard her and was probably putting things together already.

"The first thing I did was send for Tsunade and she agreed to return to Konoha to take a look, but we had been advised that if he hadn't already developed a dependency that he might at any time. The only choice we had was to limit his exposure as much as possible."

It clicked.

"You- You left him behind, didn't you?" He asked. "That's why I never heard of a young boy traveling with you over the years."

His tone wasn't accusing, he was just looking to make sure he understood the situation correctly. Too often did people assume Jiraiya was completely immature and overlooked the fact that he was an extremely skilled Shinobi, a Master Spy, and possessed seal knowledge exceeded only by one other non-Uzumaki in history, the Yondaime Hokage. Though he often was, a man of Jiraiya's caliber was not to be taken lightly in any situation.

"We did." Kushina nodded but it ended with her hanging her head in shame.

"Tsunade was supposed to arrive the first day of the academy and it would take up to several months for her to make the official call. With Naruto starting the academy, he would be gone all day and we could put some distance between us before he realized we were gone. He never would have let us leave otherwise and I don't think I would have been able to anyway."

"Seems sound to me." The couch creaked in protest as he shifted slightly in his seat. "So, what went wrong?"

"A couple things." Her head hadn't lifted yet. "First, I had reset the compound wards, intending to add only Naruto and myself. I wanted to make sure he was completely safe while we were gone, only I was distracted during the process and never finished it."

Jiraiya winced. "Ouch, that's bound to have caused some problems."

"I had left a letter explaining everything on the kitchen table, but he was unable to get to it. It also meant that he didn't know where to go. I thought he may have gone to Kurenai after I realized I had failed to add him, but Naruko here mentioned that they don't seem to get along as well as I thought they did. Tsunade was here, though, and so was Hiruzen, so I didn't worry too much about him not having a place to stay."

"And other things went wrong too?"

"They did." She nodded again, still not raising her eyes. "Tsunade was late and as I mentioned we needed the distance before Naruto was released from the academy. We couldn't' risk him trying to come home for lunch and discovering that we had packed up and left either, so we left before she arrived. She didn't get here until weeks afterwards and he had already been locked out of the compound. He never knew she was supposed to exam him and she never actually sought him out."

The tears that had gathering in her eyes began spilling silently down her face.

"Four years. We waited for four years, until his Chakra system would have reached maturity, to ensure we didn't end up hurting him because we never heard that it was safe to come back. He needed us and we were gone. I didn't dare write to him, either, because even if we weren't moving about I knew I wouldn't be able to say no if he asked me to come home. I've come to realize that trying to resist returning has been my worst mistake. I thought others might step up to ensure everything was fine in my absence, but I should have come back as soon as I realized something was wrong. "

Jiraiya was silent for a minute after she had finished, mulling everything over. Eventually, he sighed and, with the shake of his head, pushed himself up off the couch.

"Again, everything you did seems pretty sound for the most part, but all it took were a few oversights for everything to go wrong. It's probably not going to be easy to get back into his life, as I'm assuming that's the reason he's not here at the moment, but as long as the three of you draw breath there's still a chance- you just have to keep working towards it. In the meantime, I'd like to pay him a visit. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Old Oak Apartments, near the market district. He's in one-oh-eight." His words, while not an inspiring speech, did serve to reassure her slightly that things could still be made right and she shot him a slightly sad smile. "Please, if you can, let us know how he's doing and, if it's at all possible, let him know we miss him."

"I won't make any promises, Kushina, but I'll see how the conversation goes."

"Thank you, Ero-Jiji."

He gave us a wry smile.

"They don't call me _'The Gallant Jiraiya'_ for nothing."

* * *

 **See you all next time.**


	56. Words of a Sage

**Almost 7k and nearly a week earlier than my recent schedule? Huh, guess I'm improving.**

 **Not much to say for this chapter. Received quite a few reviews commenting on Naruto's statement that he may stop being a Shinobi, so I should probably take a moment to address that.**

 **Naruto wants to be a Shinobi- he's well suited for it and worked years to become one. That said, he wasn't responsible for an organization back then. His priorities have changed and following his dream of being a Shinobi doesn't mean much to him in comparison to taking care of the Wolves under his command.**

 **He's willing to sacrifice being a Shinobi of Konoha in order to focus more on his projects and those that depend on him.**

 **Even so, just because he's not a Shinobi doesn't mean he's not going to be able to go on mission, it just means they aren't missions from Konoha.**

 **There was someone who said he couldn't lead the Wolves if he wasn't a Shinobi, but I seem to recall a certain old man whom Naruto very much resembles who had his own forces despite being retired. Think his name was Danzou or something, but I could be wrong.**

 **With all that, you can also rest easy simply because I still have plans dependent on him being a Shinobi until partway into Shippuden. After that, well, who knows? The only thing I've really planned past that has been the ending.**

 **Now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to thank Ncpfan for his help.**

 **Probably kept you all waiting long enough then, yeah? Let's get started.**

* * *

When he knocked on the door that morning, he had certainly not expected for it to be answered by someone wearing the mask of a wolf. Any possibility that it might be a member of ANBU was rather solidly crushed when, upon being granted entrance into Naruto's –he did have the right one, didn't he?- apartment, he found himself in the presence of yet another person wearing such a mask.

He really hadn't intended to meet with Hi no Kuni's newest Noble House today. Actually, he never planned to meet with them- politics really weren't his cup of tea. His luck, however, seemed to be exercising its odd sense of humor because here he was, in the presence of the Wolves, when all he was trying to do was meet with the son of his student.

It reminded him of that one time in Na no Kuni when- no, wait, he should probably be paying attention.

The new Wolf took one look at Jiraiya and his shoulders sagged, which was almost unnoticeable with the way his arms were crossed over his chest. With an audible sigh he knocked twice on the door and proceeded to stick his head in. The growl- for there was no other way to describe the sound- that came from within the room had Jiraiya even more curious, the guard at the door looking like he wanted to crawl into some dark corner to hide, and the Wolf next to him trying valiantly to stifle his laughter.

"N-Naruto-Sama, you have a guest." Well, at least he was indeed at the right place.

"I know, I was speaking to them when you interrupted."

"Ah, I mean, someone else is here to see you."

"And? I'm busy at the moment."

The Wolf that had shown him obviously thought the whole thing very amusing, as the man was dying of laughter and doing his very best not to make a sound that might let any of the others know. The poor man at the door, however, seemed like he was about ready to piss himself. Either Naruto really didn't like being interrupted or he considered his current guest to be very important. Admittedly, that too piqued Jiraiya's curiosity.

He was already surrounded by Wolves, who might he be meeting with?

The Wolf looked back at him, almost as if deciding whether or not it was worth it to push the issue, and almost resignedly stuck his head back through the doorway.

"It's Jiraiya-Sama, Naruto-Sama."

"Oh?" There was a pause. "Show him to the sitting room, I'll be out shortly."

"Yes, Naruto-Sama." Jiraiya could see as the nervousness melted from the Wolf at his victory. Or course, it was soon to return. "Um, Naruto-Sama?"

"Yes?"

"Which sitting room?"

Even from outside the room Jiraiya heard the sigh.

"My sitting room, the one that was there before one of you decided to start knocking down walls and take over the other apartments." The next part was spoken in a considerably more quiet voice but the Sannin still managed to hear it. "I still haven't managed to find out who came up with that idea…"

"It's fine, Naruto, the extra room has proven beneficial." A new voice joined the conversation, one Jiraiya and his familiarity with all things female could immediate tell did not belong to a man. If Naruto really was meeting with a young woman in that room he really couldn't blame the boy for being annoyed at being interrupted.

He also wouldn't be too upset if he considered his female guest to take priority over even he, the Gallant Jiraiya. How could he? He would feel the exact same way.

"Yeah," Another brief sigh was heard. "I suppose you're right, as always."

Jiraiya could make out she sound of faint giggles.

"Of course I am, Naruto-Sama. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll see your guest to the sitting room myself."

The Wolf that had turned to escort the sage froze in place upon hearing that, unsure if he should proceed with his orders or let his superior take over.

"Will you be staying?"

"No, I have some matters to see to and I'll probably grab lunch afterwards."

"With Tsume?"

Oh? What was this? The young woman Naruto knew regularly met up with Inuzuka Tsume? Jiraiya was getting really, really curious and he already had three new ideas for his books. This visit was already proving extremely fruitful.

Just not for the reason he was actually here.

Yet, anyway. The day was still young.

"I-if she's free, maybe. You don't mind?"

Jiraiya could have sworn he _heard_ Naruto's brow rise at the question from where he was, though it was probably more likely that he just imagined it.

"Your friends are your business, Mai, and your free time is yours to spend as you like. If you do see her, however, mention that Hana might be stopping by for the public portion of the Chuunin exams. I'm sure she'll appreciate the news."

"Does that-" She was quickly interrupted.

" _ **Jiraiya**_ of the Sannin is here, Mai, let's see to him first." It was impossible to miss the way his name was stressed and it wasn't hard to imagine why either. He was a well-renowned master spy, after all, and that was a very difficult balance to pull off.

"Ah, of course, my apologies." The guard stepped out of the way of the door just in time to allow a young woman with long black hair to exit the room which, from the brief glance he was able to get, must have been Naruto's personal office. Not that Jiraiya currently had any idea what Naruto needed an office for.

"Thank you for your patience, Jiraiya-Sama, my name is Mai." She greeted him immediately with a curt bow. "Naruto will be out soon. Come, let us move somewhere a bit more comfortable."

Mai began walking towards the front of the apartment, looking back only to send the first Wolf to prepare refreshments, and Jiraiya followed with only a single backwards glance towards the office he knew Naruto was in.

He thought things were pretty odd back when he first encountered Naruko and later met up with Kushina again for the first time in years, but this certainly took the cake.

Led to a green couch, Jiraiya took a seat and idly noted the brownish stains that peeked out from beneath it.

"You know," He commented as Mai took her own seat in a blue chair across from him. "I know a couple of tricks that are pretty good at getting the blood out." His head tipped towards the most prominent section of the stain.

"So did Yugao, she said there were few better at removing blood than the ANBU." She gave a slight sigh, her cheeks only dusted by the barest hints of embarrassment. "Unfortunately it's Uzumaki blood and is as stubborn and resilient as its source. We would have had the carpet replaced, but with the…improvements…some of the others have taken into their own hands it would mean redoing the carpeting for most of the first floor at this point. Naruto doesn't want us spending that kind of money on his apartment just because he returned home to patch himself up instead of visiting the hospital."

"Yeah, I could see how quickly that might add up. Have you considered wooden floors? They require more regular upkeep than carpets but if you get a nice, dark finish it both improves the atmosphere and does wonders for hiding any blood that ends up on it. Made the switch years ago and it's saved me tons of trouble and a small fortune on stain removal."

She blinked twice, running the idea through her head.

"That's-" She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "That's actually a really good idea, especially with how hard it is to remove Naruto's blood. I'll run the idea by him later." Her smile became slightly mischievous. "Or the same Wolf who had the idea to start knocking down walls might receive a friendly suggestion soon.

Jiraiya couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Oh, he liked this one, no wonder Naruto was irritated about being interrupted. She was a keeper if he ever met one. Considering her looks and the fact that she seemed to be around Naruto's age- Going for the older woman? Atta boy, Naruto!- he couldn't think of a more perfect match.

Well, maybe not a match, he hadn't even met the boy yet, but certainly a wonderful prospect and an option that was very much available considering what he had heard of their interaction earlier.

He was totally shipping this- not that he would ever say it such a way to anyone else.

"You're a crafty one, aren't cha?"

"Anything for Naruto."

Alright, that sealed it. These two were getting together even if he had to play cupid.

"Oh? Have you known him long?" Old habits died hard and he was far to curious to wait for information to be given to him. With a bit of luck, he might learn enough to have something to speak with Naruto about once the young man made his appearance.

"Three?" She seemed to mumble the first bit to herself. "No, not quite." Her voice picked up. "Two and a half years now, I'd say, going on three."

Hm, I suppose at your age that's actually a pretty significant amount of time. You've known him for what, a fifth of your life? I suspect that's only going to be increasing over the years."

"Well, yes." The faint dusting of pink was back on her cheeks. "I don't expect anything to separate us anytime soon. My brother and I have become quite close to him and it wouldn't feel right to work with someone else."

"I understand, he must be very important to you, the both of you." There was a reason he had said it that way and now, with her distracted, maybe he could get some answers to a more interesting question. "What kind of work are three of you doing."

"Oh we've been helping him-" Even as she appeared to catch herself another voice entered the room.

"Thank you for keeping our guest company Mai, I'm sure you're eager to visit Tsume." The dismissal in his voice was as clear as the look he shot the Sage. It was pretty obvious he knew exactly what Jiraiya had tried. In response the old Shinobi just shrugged and shot him a rueful grin.

"Heh, sorry about that. Old habits die hard and you have me mighty curious, Naruto. That's a bad combination, you know."

"Quite." Naruto took a seat in the chair Mai vacated and Jiraiya got his first look at him. He had to say, he was pretty impressed. Wrapped loosely in dark fabrics that were a bit too pricy to just be sitting around at home in and that contrasted his pale skin just as well as his blood-red hair did he cut a rather striking figure even sitting down.

It wasn't a Jiraiya-level entrance but the effect was commendable. Maybe he could offer a few pointers, too, it couldn't hurt now, could it?

Naruto continued, paying no heed to the paths Jiraiya's mind saw fit to wander.

"I'll have to keep that in mind." One leg crossed the other as a Wolf emerged with cups of tea for the two of them. Naruto took one but did not drink, instead keeping his eyes focused on his rather prominent- and unexpected- guest.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was more than happy to partake in the offered refreshments. It helped that he was both the strongest person in the room and that some of his training with the toads made it nearly impossible to poison him.

You had no idea how beneficial that had proved to be over the years. Accepting drinks from strangers gave him a trusting, carefree reputation to the masses and the fact that those that were poisoned didn't end him gave him even more credibility in the eyes of his enemies.

"So, Jiraiya –Sama, what was it I could help you with today?" His eyes still focused on his guest, he took a slow sip of his own tea, more to keep it from being wasted than any actual desire to drink it.

"Ah, so serious, Naruto-Kun! Is that any way to greet your- erm." Jiraiya paused at this. He wasn't his godfather- did they ever change that from Orochimaru?- so was it something like god-father-in- law? No, that would require the Uzumaki siblings to be married, if that was even a thing. God step-father? Couldn't be, that suggested the godparents had been married and that he had been the one to marry his godmother. Last he checked Tsunade had never said 'yes'. A noticeable frown showed on his face as he tried to think of what his actual relationship with the boy could be described as. Unfortunately "Your father's father-figure" and "The teacher of your pops" were both out. Damn secrets.

"Huh, well, I guess we can just say I'm your god-uncle, or something."

Naruto raised a brow. "A sibling of one of my parents?"

No, that wouldn't do at all.

"Fine," He eventually grumbled. "Great God-uncle, happy?"

"You're a strange man, Jiraiya-Sama. I suppose that only leads credence to the fact that Konoha's greatest power lies in its eccentricity."

Jiraiya had to take a moment to both blink and remind himself that he was supposed to be speaking with a twelve year old Genin of Uzumaki Blood. Minato hadn't any Aburame or Nara blood in him, did he? Because there was no way in hell Naruto's personality was from his mother's side.

That one blink, however, was long enough for him to recover.

"And you're a very interesting young man."

"To some, perhaps." Naruto gave a gentle shrug. "You still have not graced me with the reason for your visit, great god-uncle."

The Sage winced slightly at the title- he wasn't old, damnit!- but relaxed further into his seat before shooting Naruto a small smile.

"I just returned to Konoha and while I might not be your godfather I have always considered myself pretty close to your parents and the Uzumaki clan."

"Oh? Then what brings you here?"

"Eh?" That was not what he had expected to hear. Was there more that had happened he hadn't been informed about? This is what he got from focusing on the rest of the world so much.

"You do know, do you not, that I no longer claim my Uzumaki heritage?" At Jiraiya's surprised look he continued. "I was the only Uzumaki in Konoha and started having…disagreements… with another clan after an accident I was involved in ended with the deaths of one of their members. In accordance with the old ways I denounced my clan name as to not tarnish it. With the clan head not present and no way to contact them it was only the right thing to do, I think. This way, at least, my squabble remained solely my own."

Jiraiya could have sworn he heard a snort from a nearby room. Obviously there was a Wolf that did not share the same opinion.

"I had not been informed." Frowned Jiraiya, but a small smile quickly replaced it. "Still, I was a friend of your parents' and haven't seen you since shortly after your birth. I had intended to catch up with everyone at once until I learned that you had alternate living arrangements. So," he spread his arms to show himself. "Here I am."

"So you are." Agreed Naruto. "This is a social visit, then?"

"Absolutely!" The sage paused. "Well, unless you do publishing, I suppose. Then it could become business."

"Social it is." Still, he made note to look into that as an option to help his house's financial status. Nami Publishing had a nice ring to it.

"So, tell me, Naruto- what have you been up to these last twelve years?" It was an open question, a very open question, and Jiraiya leaned back further into his chair, almost to the point of lounging to wait for a response.

"Lived in the compound for the first eight, spent most of my time by Kushina's knee or watching over Naruko as she played outside. Eight to twelve was mainly taken up by the academy and scrounging up the funds to pay for food and housing. Beyond that I've made some friends, made some enemies, and become an officially recognized Shinobi." Naruto gave a light shrug. "Nothing too extraordinary, as you can see."

Another snort came from outside the room and Jiraiya had to agree. He had the feeling that everything had been seriously understated. 'Made some enemies'? That alone could involve a lot of happenings that certainly weren't ordinary.

Jiraiya made a show of running his eyes over what had once been a single apartment and made sure to place extra emphasis in the direction the Wolf was present. Finishing, he shot Naruto a dry look before repeating Naruto's first word of the conversation.

"Quite."

"The ordinary, I suppose," Naruto spoke after only the briefest of pauses. "Is dependent on the person. I'm sure you've seen stranger over the course of your career, Jiraiya-Sama."

Well, he had him there.

Of course, he was still the Toad Sage and he was more than capable of working the conversation to his advantage.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll have to start sharing some of my stories with you and your sister now that I'm back in Konoha for the foreseeable future."

Naruto frowned slightly at the mention of his sister- something so faint that anyone but Jiraiya might have missed it- before moving his arm to rest his cheek against his knuckles.

Jiraiya waited patiently to see how the young man would respond to the words he obviously didn't care to hear.

"It would certainly be interesting to hear of your many travels over the years, Jiraiya-Sama, and I have no doubt they would also serve as valuable lessons for any who aspire to walk the path of the Shinobi. We'll have to see what schedules permit, as I currently lack a team and, thus, a solid schedule and I'm fairly certain Naruko is quite busy with her own training."

Interest, pointing out the value of the offer, before a soft decline in the form of open possibilities that were unlikely to come to pass due to not one, but two of the three proposed parties.

Fair enough.

Honestly, Jiraiya was a bit impressed when he reminded himself of Naruto's age. Still, there was something about the way he spoke that pulled at his mind, a familiarity he was reminded of with the way Naruto's eyes had glinted as words flowed from his tongue.

It took a moment to place that cold detachment, the aloof superiority with undertone of danger.

' _Orochimaru.'_

Minato's son reminded him of Orochimaru. Really, with how well those two actually got along he shouldn't be surprised but it still caught him off-guard.

There was another part that felt off, too. The way he spoke and presented himself was like the Orochimaru he remembered but the words were like…Sarutobi-Sensei? No, that wasn't right. It reminded him of the Hokage and his politicking but- ah! That was it, the words were designed for someone in a more political position, one that reminded him of the old Sarutobi who had to deal with it on a daily basis-

Or himself when he had to endure the same.

A cross between himself and Orochimaru and reminding him slightly of the Hokage, two rivals and their sensei. That, of course, brought to mind Hiruzen's own rival- Danzou.

A shiver went down Jiraiya's spine. Yeah, he was similar to the old warhawk too.

Hiruzen and Danzou.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Naruto.

Both halves of a repeating cycle, would Naruto be the one to end it?

It was a curious thought; one Jiraiya would have to give more time later. For now, however, he needed to focus on the present.

"Oh, I'm sure we can work something out. In the meantime, however, let's discuss you. After all, you'll hear enough about my years when we find time that's good for you and Naruko."

"I'm not sure what there is to discuss."

"I'd say those enemies you mentioned earlier seem pretty interesting. They wouldn't happen to be the clan you mentioned having _'disagreements'_ with, would they?"

Ha! A specific example he had already confirmed earlier. Maybe now Jiraiya would be able to learn some more about what Naruto had been up to these recent years.

Naruto frowned but answered regardless. It wasn't like Jiraiya would be incapable of finding out on his own and he had no need to give the man a reason to start digging things up about his past. Who knew what the sage might stumble upon?

"That is correct." Short, simple, to the point. If he was really lucky he would be able to keep from volunteering any information and provide only what the man asked for. Of course, he probably wasn't that lucky.

"And?" Naruto rose his brow again, as if he didn't follow. "Come on," prodded Jiraiya. "There must be more to it than that, fill an old man in here."

"What did you want to know?" Wasn't getting caught that early, thank you.

"Who they were, what started it, how it ended, everything. You can't just tell an old spy that you have enemies and leave it at that, you'll make me far too curious for my own good!"

Well, damn. He had said "For my own good" but it was more accurately "For your own good". "For our own good" however, might work well too. Either way, Jiraiya was quite plainly pointing out that he would be looking into things if he wasn't provided information from the primary source. Chances were he would anyway, that was his nature, but driving him to it certainly didn't help Naruto or his Wolves.

"The Yamanaka heiress and I, as previously stated, had a disagreement. It got out of hand, undoubtedly, and was mostly due to our pride. She carried the weight of her clan and their dislike for me already and acted upon it, something most of them readily approved of, and I was simply too full of myself.

"When that was combined with a reminder of the same mistake that had earned me such ill rapport with her clan, everything became a rather large mess. We have since come to an…understanding. Or, at the very least, I've come to an understanding with both Inoichi and Ino. I'm not sure how the rest of their clan feels about me, but I highly doubt I'm viewed in any sort of favorable light."

That was a lot more than Jiraiya had been expecting, both for an answer and for the situation. He had expected anything from an academy rivalry to getting on the wrong side of one of Konoha's few gangs. Hell, even pissing off one of the guilds, like the Merchant Guild primarily ran by the Haruno clan, wouldn't have been too surprising, but to have made an enemy of an entire Shinobi Clan? That was almost Icha-Icha plot worthy in its incredibleness. Hell, that was nearly Jiraiya level!

Once again, Jiraiya was reminded of just how much the boy seemed to resemble some of Konoha's greatest Shinobi, even if those Shinobi were not so widely acknowledged as such. Orochimaru the criminal, Jiraiya the pervert, Danzou a retired relic from an age long past, and Hiruzen who would never be seen in the same light as his predecessors despite his immense skill and even greater knowledge.

They were known, yes, but no one ever placed them on the same pedestal as the other three Hokage or the lost founder Madara. People just didn't realize how important they truly were or the effect they could have on the world.

And here Naruto was, already making a name for himself by going against entire clans as a Genin and showing qualities from all four of those great names. To Jiraiya it was clear the boy could probably reach the same level as his father, if not far exceed it.

Of course, every legendary figure needed a mentor and he did pretty damn well with the last one, if he did say so himself. Perhaps it was time to guide another into the recordings of history.

That, however, could wait until he had established himself with the boy. He'd give it a month or two before trying anything like that. In the meantime, he could still act in his god-uncle capacity. You know, if that was actually a thing. Wasn't exactly Shinobi-Mentor of a legend, but it was a relaxed mentor for a young man, and that was just as important.

Still, against the Yamanaka? He was still having trouble wrapping his head around that. What the fuck happened? Actually, that lead right into the perfect next question.

"What the fuck happened?" It would also suffice as that next question.

Before Naruto could offer some pointless answer that clarified nothing, as he seemed most want to do, Jiraiya further clarified his previous, rather broad, question.

"I get that you two had a disagreement that served as the spark, but what brought things to that point. Didn't get caught sleeping with Inoichi's wife now, did ya? He grinned at the end of it, hoping to inject some humor into the situation but it didn't seem to work at all. Naruto's response made it pretty obvious why.

"No, I was involved in the death of his sister."

Oh. Well, shit. That would do it.

"His sister?" He may have been mistaken, but hadn't she left the clan years ago? He hadn't heard anything about her since and he had to wonder how much the Yamanaka clan had before her demise.

"Yeah, his sister." Naruto gave a long, tired sigh. "I made her acquaintance one morning near the market district and we had tea at a nearby shop. She was my first friend."

Ouch. This didn't sound fun. He briefly weighed getting the full story against avoiding what could very easily be a painful topic. In the end, the chance that talking about it may do him some good won over and Jiraiya pushed forward.

"I would assume, then, there was some sort of accident?" He most certainly wanted to avoid making Naruto believe he thought him responsible. He needed the full story before he could make any sort of judgement. He did not, however, believe the young man had actually meant for the woman to die. At the same time, he didn't seem to fully blame himself, either. Rather than say he had killed her, as someone either proud, guilty, or ashamed may have, he described it as being part of the death.

He was there, present for the death, or did something that eventually caused that death, but he knew it wasn't his fault and certainly hadn't meant to bring it about.

"I was going to visit her one evening and found a drunkard assaulting her. I tried to stop him, but she was injured in the fight and died soon after. I consider myself immensely fortunate to have been given the chance to say goodbye."

Oh, so not just an accident, a combat accident in which he was actively trying to save her. Kid must have been beating himself up over it for weeks, god's knows he did on his first protection mission that went south. He, fortunately, could say he did not know the man he was protecting very well. Naruto, on the other hand, lost his friend and somehow managed to get an entire clan against him.

Those had to have been some hard times for him even without Kushina gone. It made it quite easy to see why he had not accepted her as soon as she returned. During times of struggle one becomes closer to those around them, but if you didn't have anyone you learned to rely only upon yourself. That makes it difficult enough to let anyone back in, to say nothing about those who hadn't been there for you when you needed them.

Kushina was going to have quite an uphill battle if she really wanted to become part of her son's life again.

But that really wasn't a concern at the moment.

"Cherish those last moments, Naruto, remember them fondly, and keep her in your heart as you continue to live." Jiraiya gave a sigh, his age showing for just a brief moment. "I'm not going to say something as insensitive as "Get over it" or "Get used to it", but you should realize that's it's going to happen. You'll lose friends again and again and again to situations you have no control over and in situations you thought you had complete control both.

It doesn't get easier, there's no preferable way for it to happen, you just have to keep going and keep the guilt from eating you alive because, at the very least, one of you still is. As soon as that grief overcomes you, as soon as you give into the guilt and sorrow, you've died. And if you've died after them just because you weren't strong enough than they should have been the one to go back home. Unfortunately, we don't get a choice in the matter, so you have to be strong enough to live for both of you.

It's a lesson passed on generation to generation, but only truly learned the hard way."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, pondering, before the faintest smiles graced his lips. Not quite sad, just a touch bitter, but mostly thankful.

"I certainly would have benefited from hearing that back when it happened but thank you all the same, Jiraiya. I appreciate your insight."

Jiraiya returned the smile with a bit more cheerfulness, happy to have been able to impart some of his wisdom to one of the next generation.

"No problem, Naruto, it's what god-uncles do. You ever need any sort of advice you can always seek me out."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. It's a most gracious offer."

The old sage relaxed again into his seat, the years seemingly melting from his face.

"Like I said, it's what I'm here for. And, speaking of being here, it's probably about time I headed out. People are only able to handle so much of the amazing Jiraiya from what I understand." This earned him a small grin, though it was probably more to do with whatever comment Naruto had come up with and been courteous enough to keep to himself than what he had actually said.

"Before I go, however, I do have one more question."

Naruto took a sip of his drink- which was probably cold at this point- and motioned for the Toad Summoner to continue.

"Now that I have the background, what was the actual disagreement between you and the Yamanaka heiress?"

A small, genuine small crossed the young daimyo's lips as he thought about his little cult-leader and he answered the man simply.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"Oh?" It was as much an expression of surprise as it was a prompt asking him to continue. On this matter, Naruto did not mind providing more information.

"I took Hinata under my wing shortly after she was branded with the Caged-Bird seal and demoted to the branch family of the Hyuuga clan. Ino, seeing me only as the killer of her aunt, wanted to dissuade her from spending any time around me. A noble intention, I suppose, based on the information she had available., but it was an action that displeased me greatly. In the end, I revoked my right to the Uzumaki name and declared the Yamanaka my enemies. Not the smartest idea, certainly, but it's the course of action I took and the one I've managed to live with."

The Wolves really had been a big help with that.

Jiraiya, while able to understand the entire situation, decided to focus on what he deemed the most important.

"The Hyuuga girl, eh? I remember her mother, spirits watch over her, the woman was one of the most _gifted_ Kunoichi I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Naruto did his best to pretend he hadn't understood what the man was hinting at, but it was kind of difficult not to understand when he was making gestures in front of his own chest to denote size. Jiraiya was not deterred by the lack of response, however.

"So, this Hinata, she stacked yet? If she's anything like her mother she's probably already started growing, if you know what I mean."

"I would rather not discuss this Jiraiya." Oh, the honorific had dropped. Heh, looks like he was actually getting to him.

"Aw, come on, what better thing to discuss is there than women?" The old sage shot him a lecherous grin. "You know, if you don't tell me I'll have no choice but take a look for myself."

The light growl that came from the young redhead had Jiraiya pausing in surprise but before he could comment on it Naruto spoke.

Hinata was his, damnit, and this lecher wasn't so much as going to lay his eyes on her.

"Her…assets…are incredibly hard to miss."

"Hah! Atta boy!" Jiraiya's grin lit the room. "Looking then, are we? Can't blame ya. Hold on to that one, she's only going to grow more."

"I'm quite certain she's not going anywhere." Not if he had any say in it, she was proving to be too valuable.

"Eh? Sunk your claws into her already, I see. Good on you, Naruto, we'll make sure you don't become the sheltered prude your father was. Never figured out why I couldn't' bring him to the Icha-Icha side but he sure did well with Kakashi."

"Sheltered prude?" Neither in the room had spoken and as both turned towards the entryway where they heard it originate there was a snort of laughter and another voice.

"He already shares his bed with various women and Jiraiya-Sama thinks he's going to be a prude?"

It was the first voice's turn to snort. "They day Naruto-Sama turns out to be a prude I become celibate. It's never going to happen."

Naruto cleared his throat loudly, a faint dusting of red visible on his pale cheeks. "That's quite enough now, you two."

The two in the other room choked on the air, their words stuck in their throat as they realize they had been just a bit too loud.

"H-hai, Naruto-Sama."

The other voice was quick to join it.

"A t-thousand apologies, it was a most i-inappropriate topic for us to be discussing."

Two fingers came to pinch the bridge of Naruto's nose as he hung his head in irritation. "Go find Mai, I'm sure she has work for the two of you." He knew for a fact she had work for the two of them-guarding him- but if there were going to be talking about things like that and within hearing distance of his guest then they were going to need to be given some other task.

It had the added benefit of knowing Mai would be displeased to see that they had gotten themselves dismissed and dole out a suitable punishment.

"B-but Naruto-Sama, we've been instructed to remain with you." Obviously they realized that he would be left here with his S-ranked guest, not to mention the Genin team that was around here somewhere, and that they would have to explain that to Mai who was probably spending time with Tsume and would already be irritated at being interrupted.

"And I've instructed you to report to Mai. Is there anything about that which isn't clear?"

"N-no, Naruto-Sama."

The two were quick to leave after that, but not without a stream of hushed expletives that were barely audible. The last thing Naruto and Jiraiya heard from them was "Mai's going to fuckin' skin us alive."

With that over, Naruto collapsed as bonelessly into his seat as one could when they were already in said seat.

"Like children, I swear." He muttered, which Jiraiya found quite amusing. From their voices alone, those had to have been grown men and here a twelve-year old was calling them children.

"Well then," Grinned the Sannin. "With that I do believe it's time for me to get going as well. It was nice talking to you, Naruto, we'll have to do this again soon. "

"Certainly." Naruto nodded, his eyes still closed, before the two amethyst orbs opened to watch his guest rise from his seat. "Shall I show you to the door?" He inquired.

Jiraiya waived him off. "Nah, I can get out on my own. I'll drop by sometime next week, are there any times that are bad for you?"

Naruto snorted. "Not in particular, but I don't exactly have a solid schedule. Eleven, however, is a most ungodly hour, so I'd appreciate it if future visits were a bit later. I'm usually up quite late."

"Afternoons it is." The sage turned to leave before pausing and turning to look at Naruto over his shoulder. "Oh, before I forget, Kushina asked that I let you know they miss you. Promised them I'd let you know if I could and that I'd make sure you're doing alright. Seem to be doing fine to me, especially with that little Hyuuga, so I'll just make sure to pass that along."

Jiraiya gave a slight shrug as he continued.

"Not saying you have to do anything with that information and I'm not urging you to let them back into your life, that's entirely your business, but I would like to remind you that accidents do happen and no matter what they do care for you. I understand if you've come to not need them in their time away, but that doesn't mean they don't need you. Just something to think about. See you around, Naruto, and don't forget to find me if you need any advice, especially about the women in your bed."

"Get out or here, you old pervert."

Amused, Jiraiya gave a hearty laugh and disappeared down the hall, retracing steps from his entrance. All in all, that's hadn't gone badly at all, he'd even dare to say it went pretty well considering this was their first meeting. There were still a lot of unanswered questions, but he had enough to interact with the boy now and had already started establishing rapport. He'd stop by to visit Sensei later to see if he could shed some more light on the subject, that would cut down his workload immensely and help him get to the bottom of everything far more quickly.

The old sage continued down the halls of what had once been a small apartment, careful to follow the exact path he had taken in lest the Wolves or his host believe him to be snooping about.

As he neared the front door, however, he had to pause and question what he was seeing.

Orochimaru? No, that wasn't possible. Latest reports had Orochimaru overseeing a project in Otogakure no Sato to, strangely enough, make it more accessible. There had been some talk about proposals to work on connecting some of the lakes and rivers to grant them access to the sea in the south and, possibly, connecting it all the way to the northern seas near Kaze no Kuni, but that was neither here nor there.

More important than location, the person before him was undoubtedly female. He was pretty damn sure after years of being on the same team and the occasional visit to the hotsprings- you know, when Jiraiya was actually on the male side and not looking through a fence- that Orochimaru was male.

The woman, however, possessed an almost uncanny resemblance to his former teammate. It was disturbing to say the least, not because she was unattractive but because he found himself very much attracted to her. And _that_ was a damn scary thought.

Of course, that line of thought brought him back to the thought that Naruto might be a mix between himself and Orochimaru which, in turn, lead to the idea of Naruto being their son.

The son of Jiraiya and a female Orochimaru.

Gods above, he was actually about to be sick at the thought of getting with a woman.

What was the world coming to?

With a rushed greeting, he was quick to make his way past her and into the safety of the outside world. It was going to take a lot of research, and probably a lot of alcohol, to wash those thoughts away.

It was probably a good thing that he didn't look back, for the unmistakable smirk she wore would have sent him running for the hills.


	57. Den of the Genin

**Well, shit, maybe I'm not actually improving. At least I finally managed to get this finished, I can't recall how long ago I started on this chapter but I know I've neglected finishing it for at least two weeks.**

 **Think there was a guest review in response to something I said last chapter that I had planned to address but I can't exactly recall and don't have the energy to try to find it. I've never really liked responding in the AN anyway, so it's probably better this way.**

 **If someone wants to PM me a comment, however, I'll** **endeavor** **to respond as soon as possible.**

 **Which of course reminds me of just how far behind I am on reviews. If anyone would be so kind as to let me know the earliest chapter you never got a response to your review on it would be much appreciated.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for looking over my work.**

 **Enjoy the show.**

* * *

She watched him hurry out of the house, a smirk stretching across her lips. Even when he didn't know who she was he was still unnerved by her presence. Good.

She had never cared much for people in general and while his never ending attempts to be both her rival and brother back in their Genin days had been his solution for bringing the team together Orochimaru had never really liked Jiraiya.

Respected him, certainly, just as she did Tsunade, but she had not been fond of the man's personality despite the odd wisdom that hid behind it occasionally shining through.

As a fellow legendary Shinobi she could tolerate the man, but little more.

Seeing him rush to leave at her mere presence, when he should expect her to be a civilian, was extremely satisfying.

Of course, that's probably due to the resemblance her new body shared with the one he had known and grown up with. She could only imagine the thoughts that must have been running through his head when he saw her.

With a giggle that would never be suspected of belonging to Orochimaru the Sannin, she continued down the hall to find her favorite- and only- godson.

Rather than be in his office, as she had expected, she found him lounging in a chair in the first sitting room, an area usually reserved for visits from Naruto's favored. Mostly because Naruto himself preferred to sit here- being the original sitting room of his apartment before it began expanding- and that meant those that spent a lot of time around him could be found here too.

The Wolves did their best not to intrude into it but were very careful to always have someone stationed nearby.

Actually, on that note, where were the Wolves?

There had been several when she left earlier and while it was expected that some had duties to attend to elsewhere there should have been some guards around for the safety of her Crimson Prince.

A frown tugging at what had been so recently a smirk, she continued on her way, taking extra effort to locate one of the ANBU-like figures who may be skulking around their master's abode.

By the time she was near his chair she was absolutely certain there was not a single guard within three walls in any direction.

That was completely unacceptable.

"It seems quiet in here, Naruto-Kun." She started with, following her leadup immediately with the question she wanted the answer for. "Was Jiraiya the only one here with you?"

"Hmm?" His head rose, the hand that was rubbing tiredly at the bridge of his nose falling to rest lazily over his armrest. He met her eyes, tilted his head in a moment in thought, and finished with a slight nod. "Yeah, I suppose he was."

Orochimaru felt her blood begin to boil. Someone had the gall to leave her precious godson all alone with an S-rank Shinobi? How dare they, how fucking dare they?!

Almost as if he knew of both her anger and the reason for it he continued.

"There had been two Wolves with us but I dismissed them not long before Jiraiya left. While I didn't mind them cracking jokes between themselves, it went a bit too far when my guest was able to hear them. I sent them to Mai, so the issue should be sorted shortly."

Orochimaru actually winced slightly at that. That girl could be absolutely ruthless but add in Naruto unprotected because they couldn't be bothered to keep their mouths shut and the fact that she was probably off somewhere taking a well-deserved break and there probably wouldn't be anything left of those Wolves when she was done with them.

"Your Genin spend a lot of their free time here," Naruto continued as if what he had already said wasn't of any real note. "But this morning they went off to practice with one of the Wolves. Or, two of them did. The other I think wandered off on his own, but I'm not really sure. They may have returned before Jiraiya arrived but I didn't check."

"I see." The possibility of her team being here elevated the concern slightly, as they could at least serve as a distraction for Naruto should he need to escape, but she still wasn't pleased. Maybe she needed to require one of the Gennin in the building at all times, just in case.

Just, not Zaku.

That was not the impression she wanted to leave on Naruto about her forces.

If he wanted to go fuck off in the village each day he was more than welcome .She cared far less how her village was seen by Konoha than by Naruto and his Wolves.

Not hinting towards her thoughts, she continued.

"So everything went alright, then?"

"Yeah, we spoke a bit about my past, enough that he had the general idea of what's been going on, and he gave me some advice I probably could have used a few years ago. Other than that, he's going to find a way to arrange times to sit down with Naruko and myself to impart his wisdom."

She couldn't help but question. "Wisdom?"

Sure, he had his moments, but those never really seemed planned. He just spoke his heart and let things happen. What kind of wisdom could he be hoping to share with his goddaughter and her brother?

"He's going to share his experiences as a Shinobi and let us learn from his mistakes, I suppose."

Ah, that did make sense. Leave it to Jiraiya to teach by examples of what not to do. Knowing him as she did, the old bastard would be pleased with sharing all of his failures over the years. He really did have no shame, though she supposed that was a good thing for a Shinobi.

"Will you actually go?" She inquired. He didn't seem excited about the idea, but neither did he seem to dislike the idea.

"If I'm free, I suppose. It would be a shame to waste such an opportunity and gives me a reason to take a break." He gave a short, defeated sigh. "Speaking of taking breaks, this one has gone on for too long. I need to get back to work."

Pushing himself out of the chair, he made his way back to his office with godmother in tow. She found a comfortable spot against the wall that she could lean against as she watched him work- which never got old. She loved seeing her little prince manage the forces under his command- and he took his usual seat behind his large desk.

Before he could get to work, however, the sound of the front door slamming open followed by hurried footsteps reached their ears.

One Of Orochimaru's hands went to her back, where she had hidden a kunai, but Naruto made no move that would indicate he had even noticed. Even so, Orochimaru's' sharp eyes were able to bear witness to two thick chains falling to the ground like heavy, silent serpents.

Honestly, that was pretty impressive. It took quite a lot of skill to create chakra constructs like that while not moving any more than necessary to grab the first piece of paperwork from the stack.

Such preparation, however, turned out to be unnecessary when the visitor barged into the room, revealing an out of breath Mai who relaxed immediately upon seeing Naruto at his desk as normal and Orochimaru leaning against the wall.

"Thank-" She huffed, her face red with exertion. "The gods."

Naruto, in response, rose a brow.

"Are you alright, Mai?"

She gave a short laugh, as much as her breathless state would allow.

"Me? I should be asking that of you. I ran over immediately when I learned you were alone with Jiraiya."

He frowned slightly.

"You were taking a well-deserved rest, Mai. You didn't need to worry about me. Had I been in any danger I wouldn't have sent away the guards."

She recovered remarkably fast after hearing that, crossing her arms and cocking a hip to the side as she shot him a dirty look.

"You're sitting here with an S-ranked Shinobi you've never interacted with before and a sore lack of guards, backup, or support of any kind and you think I'm going to be able to just 'not worry about it'?"

His brow rose once more, the rest of his face still like stone.

"I'd expect you to be able to trust my judgement, Mai." The stone softened considerably. "Still, I thank you for your concern and apologize for worrying you. As you can see, I'm fine and alone no longer- go take that break. You could use some time to relax."

She gave a short laugh again.

"After that? Yeah, I could use some relaxation, just not sure I'll be able to."

"I'm sure some time with Tsume will fix that and I'm pretty certain you were already with her. She's probably wondering where you got off to."

"Ah!" her eyes widened slightly at remembering but before anything more could be said another voice was heard.

"Mai? Is everything okay Mai?"

The words grew louder as their speaker got closer to Naruto's study but the identity was already pretty obvious to the occupants. By the time Tsume hesitantly stuck her head through the door Naruto was smirking slightly at a blushing Mai and Orochimaru was watching in amusement.

"Forget something, did we Mai?"

"S-sorry, Naruto." She turned to the older woman and the only person she would feel right calling her friend. "Sorry, Tsume, I should have said something before I ran off."

"It's fine." Still not knowing exactly how welcome se was to the other occupants of the room, she was slow in her entrance, providing ample time to receive some indication that she was not welcome. When none was forthcoming she relaxed slightly but stayed near the doorway, just in case. "Is everything alright?"

A small, reassuring smile graced Mai's lips.

"Yeah, it turns out everything's fine. When I was informed by those Wolves that Naruto was here alone with a powerful Shinobi when they were supposed to be guarding him I panicked slightly."

Considering that Tsume knew her as Tsukiyomi's voice, someone trusted above just about everyone else, her panicking over Genin Naruto spoke volumes about how important he Wolves felt he was.

But why?

Beyond that question, she had to wonder why Mai was so panicked then and was relaxed now despite the presence of Naruto's guest in the corner. When her inquiring gaze focused upon the form of Orochimaru in her new body Mai was quick to correct her.

"Ah, not her. Jiraiya-Sama had stopped by for a visit earlier."

Jiraiya? Of the Sannin?

Once again she had to wonder just how important this young man was in their world without anyone the wiser. Mai had mentioned a few times that he was associated with the Wolves but there was obviously far more to it than that.

"Well," Tsume managed. "I'm glad everything's okay."

Mai shot her a grateful smile.

Naruto, on the other hand, gave her a thoughtful frown before asking; "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before. My name's Naruto, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Ah!" She was momentarily caught by surprise at his decision to turn this into an official meeting. It was certainly an interesting start to one. "Tsume, Inuzuka Tsume. Likewise."

He gave a thin grin. "I'm sure. Now, I do believe you were spending some time with the lovely Mai here; I'd hate to keep you two from enjoying each other's company any more than necessary. Please, feel free to steal her away- I'm sure she'd appreciate the break."

While Tsume was all for that- something about him was slightly unnerving, though that might just be because this meeting seemed so odd- but Mai looked hesitant to leave despite having been assured that he was perfectly safe.

She really had to wonder, if not what the relationship between he and the Wolves were, what the relationship between the young man behind the desk and Mai was.

She had her doubts that what she was about to do was a good idea, but if it helped Mai she'd do it. She was becoming rather fond of the girl, after all.

"Mai and I were just having a friendly discussion. You wouldn't mind if we continued in your siting room, would you?" The smile on Mai's face was already making it worth it, regardless of the outcome.

"Oh, no, not at all. Make yourselves comfortable." His next few words were spoken with a casualness that belied their true weight. "My den is your den, Tsume."

A shiver ran down her spine for reasons she couldn't quite identify. Was it the reference to the home of Wolves? The way he spoke so easily of her allies, as if it was too normal to bother giving any special care? Maybe it was the way he addressed her without honorific, implying they were far closer than she would have ever believed them to be.

And while she was unnerved by this combination, the woman in the corner seemed to watch on in dark amusement.

When a questioning glance went from her observer to her potential host for the afternoon he responded by raising a brow and shaking his head slightly.

He wasn't going to introduce her; she wasn't any of her business.

And that's when it clicked. He was the one who was going to allow her to make use of his home, he was someone whom Mai was concerned over the safety of, he was the one who determined what she would and wouldn't know from behind his desk as she stood there like some Chuunin about to be sent on an errand. Here, he was in control. He was in charge.

And she had no idea what to make of it.

She had known that Naruto was associated with the Wolves and Mai always emphasized just how important to them he was, as if trying to remind her that any thoughts to move against him were a poor choice, but she had, perhaps, not emphasized enough.

Had she not known she was speaking with a Genin she may have been tempted to believe this was Tsukiyomi. As it was, he couldn't be, but he certainly had the backing of the man.

Mai was the Moon God's favored messenger, bringing his words to those who followed him and reporting everything back to him, and that had made her believe that she was second in command. The hierarchy, as Mai had explained it, had certainly pointed to that being the case. Now, however, Tsume was having her doubts.

What she couldn't bring herself to doubt would be the fact that Naruto outranked Mai. There was absolutely no question there.

And that, honestly, was a bit frightening.

Who was Naruto, really?

While these thought did indeed rush through her head, she was still swift to reply to this disturbingly connected young man before her.

"That's very generous of you, Naruto-San." Just because she had worked out that he outranked Mai didn't mean she was going to be obvious about it. If she was told to address him differently later by Mai then so be it, but until then she'd pretend he was just a Genin with strange friends. "Come on, Mai, we're probably distracting him from his work."

Mai seemed reluctant but followed regardless as Tsume excused herself from his office and moved to the sitting room.

As soon as the door clicked behind them, Orochimaru smirked at her beloved godson.

"She's a loyal one, isn't she?" She gave a faint chuckle. "I approve, you certainly chose good subordinates."

Naruto smiled lightly in response.

"I would never have gotten as far as I have without her and couldn't be more grateful for that loyalty. I don't know what I, or the rest of the Wolves, would do should she leave us."

Understanding it as she believed it should be- 'Should she leave _me_ ' – Orochimaru gave a nod in agreement. She was curious still about the odd relationship between the girl and the Inuzuka clan head and how that fit into the relationship between her and her godson, but that could wait.

With Naruto needing to focus on his work and two people she knew would aid him present in the house, Orochimaru decided now would be a good time to check in on her Genin team. It would be good to remind them that she was still around and expected them to be on their best behavior and would give her a chance to make sure they understood that one of them, meaning either Kin or Dosu, was to be close to Naruto at all times to ensure his protection.

"Then you'll just have to make sure she never leaves." Orochimaru was rather partial to her cursed seals for ensuring such, but her godson seemed better at inspiring actual loyalty rather than fear and the occasional fanatic. He could use whatever methods he found to suit his needs best. "And speaking of subordinates," She continued. "I should probably find my Genin."

"One of the Wolves may know where they went off to; I would suggest asking one before you start searching." Naruto's attention was already back to the paperwork before him, marking off reports and jotting down notes on a separate piece of paper for anything he felt important enough to revisit later. He paused in this only briefly to catch her eyes with his own amethyst orbs. "Will you be returning with them later tonight?"

"Most certainly, earlier depending on how fast I can find them." She answered. "I don't even have a month left until the end of these exams and I'm going to need to return to Sound afterwards so I'm going to be spending as much time with you as I possibly can."

He smiled lightly at that.

"I'll let the Wolves know to prepare enough for you and your team then. Have fun finding your Genin and, please," He met her eyes again. "Do try to stay out of trouble, yeah?"

She pouted at that, very much like Anko and Mikoto. "Aw, you know you can trust me, Naruto-Kun. I'm a good girl."

He gave a snort of amusement as he finished signing another paper.

"I highly doubt that." Stated Naruto before waving one of his hands in a lazy dismissive gesture. "But you need to go find your little Genin and I need to focus on my work. I'll see you later, godmother."

She smiled at being referred to as his godmother and made no mention of the fact that he, too, was a Genin.

"I'll be back soon, Naruto-Kun.

The response this time was a grunt as he focused more fully on the papers before him and she had to try rather hard not to giggle at how serious he seemed as he worked on managing his forces and newly acquired country. She really wouldn't ever tire of seeing him be so focused on work that most would never have the responsibility of performing or the power that came along with it.

As she left, though, she could have sworn he had mumbled something about trains and Yuki no Kuni.

* * *

Something was wrong, very wrong. Unease mixed with restlessness he couldn't explain and some voice in the back of his head was always angrily judging everything he did and saw. Patience he once believed to be more vast than the ocean had been failing him lately as he snapped at his teammates for the most inconsequential of things.

And this need to move, to do something, to get as far away as possible would not leave him, despite the fact that there was nowhere else in the world he would feel more comfortable being than the compound of his clan in this village hidden in the leaves.

It held many bad memories, certainly, but far more good memories for him to be able to separate from the place he had spent his entire life.

What had gotten into him?

As he pondered the feelings that haunted him, he idly rubbed the side of his neck.

The Ten no Juin seemed more agitated as of late.

* * *

"He's doing fine."

Kushina barely held back a startled scream at the sudden voice. Ino did not.

One hand over her rapidly beating heart, Kushina turned to glare at the old pervert on the windowsill.

"Goddamnit Ero-Jiji, I told you to stop doing that during the Third Shinobi War!" Not that he hadn't been doing it since she –and more importantly Minato- had been a Genin. He always seemed to get a kick out of it but she had hoped he would have moved on to something else by now.

The man in the window shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean I was actually going to stop. I quite enjoy the reactions." At that he shot a wink at the room's other occupant, earning a glare from Ino as well.

Kushina sighed and shook her head before asking; "What do you want, Jiraiya?" Ino's surprise at learning the identity of the person she had been glaring at was rather obvious.

"Like I said," He swung his legs inside, moving from a crouched position to sitting on the windowsill. "He's doing fine."

"He's- Naruto!"

"Yep." The Sannin nodded. "Just spoke with 'em, seems to be getting along alright. Had a cute little thing in his office when I arrived, nearly brought a tear to my eyes. We had a brief chat that went well enough, in my opinion at least, and I brought up that you and Naruko were missing him."

Hope briefly blossomed in Kushina's eyes. "How did he respond to that?"

Jiraiya, in answer, shrugged. "I just asked him to think about it, didn't wait for a response. Next time I meet with him I'll try to breech the subject with him."

"Next time?"

"Well," Jiraiya shrugged again. "He didn't seem too opposed to the idea." He turned his attention away from Kushina and over to Ino who, while no longer glaring at him, certainly didn't look all too pleased as she stood staring at him, her arms crossed before her chest. "And who might this be?" He inquired.

"Yamanaka Ino." Answered the Genin, still obviously not pleased about his sudden intrusion. Knowing now who he was, however, stopped her from letting him know just how little she appreciated it. She also couldn't help the slight curiosity in her eyes. They were speaking of Naruto, after all, and that was a subject that always caught her attention.

"Oh-ho? Really?" He gazed at her with far more interest than he had previous. "I heard from Naruto that the two of you had a disagreement of sorts." When she tensed up he continued, lazily waving his hand as if trying to physically dismiss any fears he could have brought up. "Said he had managed to come to an understanding with you and your father but was certain that the rest of the clan wasn't too fond of him."

Ino winced at that. Talk about an understatement.

"Well, I had just stopped by to mention I had spoken with him to you, Kushina. There's probably a reason I found you here but I don't think I'm up for the story at the moment. I'll visit you and Naruko for the full rundown sometime after I've managed to remove the thoughts of a female Orochimaru birthing my child out of my head." With that he was gone, two very confused Kunoichi left behind.

After a moment of silence Ino turned to look at the head of the Uzumaki clan.

"D-did he just say-"

Kushina cut her off.

"It's probably best not to think about it."

Ino had to agree.

* * *

With a deep sigh he abandoned his pen in favor of a glass, pouring himself a drink as one hand came up to massage his temples. Wearily, he looked at the stack of papers on his desk. To think, most of that wasn't even paperwork but rather notes he had made to ensure he didn't forget anything important about his plans.

Because paperwork wasn't the problem.

The amount of projects he had going on wasn't a problem.

The fact that all his projects were coming to a head around the same time, however, was a very big problem.

With the upcoming finals of the Chuunin exam he had to make sure both he and Hana were present with the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni to represent Ni no Kuni and the alliance between the two countries.

He needed to protect both and all other visiting dignitaries during Sunagakure's planned invasion- which was brilliant, because he was fairly certain one of those visiting dignitaries was to be the Daimyo of Kaze no Kuni, which meant he had to protect him from both the invasion and his fellow lords- while ensuring Sabaku no Gaara didn't manage to fully access his Biju's power while within Konoha.

That wasn't going to be easy, both because he needed to protect the nobles and because he was trying to keep his identity a secret. Jumping down into the arena to subdue the raging Jinchuriki would draw unwanted attention to himself that he would very much like to avoid.

If worse came to worse, both his sister and Jiraiya were present within the village. Between the two of them they should be able to defeat a single Jinchuriki. Kushina, too, was here, and with proper application of her chains could either halt them in their tracks or herd them out of the village where there would be minimal damage.

And to think, that was just the Chuunin exam, he still had Hinata's little cult to manage and he could imagine no better time for their rebellion against the main family, particularly the elders. How there could be more than four elders of the main family he really would never understand considering only a single child of the main line was supposed to avoid the seal.

Then again, he supposed it didn't have to make sense any more than Hinata's cult did. The Hyuuga were simply strange.

With the Hyuuga issue, they also needed to be able to extract safely one Hyuuga Hanabi to ensure she was not harmed during the rebellion so she could be of use to him later. Even if just to solidify the new headship of the Hyuuga clan, it would be worth the extra headache. Not that he had figured that out yet, either. Was Hinata to be head? It would make sense, but she probably wasn't ready for that quite yet. Maybe a figurehead who could take care of the general things but would defer to the command of their 'Goddess' who, of course, was heeding the word of both Mai and Himself.

The last problem he could think of at the moment would have to be the fact that his own forces were to be joining the fight in hopes of crushing Sunagakure's invasion attempt as soon as possible. The only worry there was that Konoha might mistake them for additional aggressors and the fact that the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni might be a bit cross at him for not being informed.

With a bit of luck, he might be able to direct that ire at Hiruzen instead. After all, had Genin Uzumaki not brought it to his attention? Surely, it was the duty of the Hokage to report such critical information to his Daimyo. At least, that was how he was going to be spinning it if the Daimyo was actually upset. Otherwise he wouldn't be bringing it up.

What Naruto really needed, aside from this drink and a nice little vacation, was to split everything up a little. Luckily he hadn't gotten involved with Kirigakure's issues quite yet.

That would have been an absolute nightmare to balance.

Maybe if he relocated Hanabi early, but how? Her absence would probably be noticed very quickly by everyone in the Hyuuga compound, being the heiress, so moving her even a day before the invasion would lead to Hyuuga clan members being sent out to find her.

His thoughts paused momentarily.

But who was it that would be sent out? Branch members, no doubt. Could Hinata or one of the branch elders arrange that she was instead not found? He frowned at that. No, that wasn't going to work. Part of the reason she was being hidden was because she could be in danger of those same branch members and with the Heiress missing it would have the Hyuuga main elders and Hiashi up in arms. That wasn't good for either the rebellion or for Konoha's reputation with all the visiting guests.

They also couldn't risk Suna believing that the uproar was because their invasion had been found out, which would make all their work be for not and remove an opportunity he had been considering as of late.

No, his best option, then, would probably be to have her disappear that morning before the invasion started but too soon for the Hyuuga to be up in arms. Having her play sick or arranging that all academy students would be going together as a group could work. The second one had a better chance of succeeding because no one would know she wasn't with her classmates until afterwards.

And by then? Well, the Hyuuga elders would have much bigger problems than a missing heiress.

Mainly their own missing lives.

He scribbled down a note to get in touch with Iruka, Hiruzen, and quite possibly Danzou about the idea. Having Danzou be the one to present it as his own desire for the newest generation to see real combat live would take suspicion off of himself. Not that Danzou would be fooled at all and it would probably give Hiruzen only a moment's pause to connect it all.

Still, it was better than handing over the fact that he was up to something to the aged Hokage on a silver platter.

Well, if nothing else, that was one thing quite possibly figured out and to be honest most of the others were as taken care of as they could be at the time.

The biggest remaining issue was, of course, Gaara.

He had no doubt that he could do it himself, just revealing the seal that adorned his arm had both Biju and Jinchuriki trembling in fear, but the problem was doing it when he needed to stay with the other nobles and keep his abilities as secret as possible.

But, he didn't actually have to render Gaara helpless after the invasion started, did he? Just like the situation with Hanabi, what if he were to take care of it beforehand?

The only real issue there was tipping off the rest of the Suna Shinobi.

Well, that and he had no idea how the poor boy might act separated from his 'mother'. Gaara was obviously a Jinchuriki who had not been fortunate.

Was there a way to remove the threat without stripping the boy of Shukaku?

His seal, the one that had them both prostrate before him, was an obvious answer if he could figure out the exact function he needed the seal to perform in order not to hurt the boy any more than his village already had.

There was a seal, or rather, a pair of seal, that had done something similar though, wasn't there? Idly one hand came to scratch lightly over his heart where his half of the seal, the gate, stained his pale skin.

Mito had been unable, to the best of his knowledge, to pull chakra form Naruko's half of the seal, but was able to be present on his half and manipulate chakra on his end.

With that in mind, could he seal away the Ichibi within a different seal and simply allow it to continue connecting to Gaara's existing one? No, that was a bad idea, it was already evident that his fellow redhead had a seal nowhere near up to snuff.

A new seal, however, should be more than possible.

Of course, he still had to find someone to hold the Ichibi- or did he?

Gaara suffered because his seal was not proper causing both his and the Ichibi's chakra to be out of balance both individually and together. Or, at the very least, that was often the reason behind those like Gaara ending up, well, like Gaara.

But he, Naruto, could make a proper seal. He didn't have to worry about that.

He'd have to see Gaara as soon as possible to get this taken care of, before he thought better of this idea of his.

After all, a Biju was a terrible thing to waste.

* * *

 **See you all for the next act.**


	58. Blankets of Sand

**It's taken absolutely forever, which I blame on recent game releases and my own need to read, but it's finally here. I already have an idea for most of the next chapter, so hopefully that one will be done far sooner than this one. Briefly, I considered making this chapter longer, but I figured you had all waited long enough.**

 **Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help looking over the story.**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Only the moon peered down upon the swiftly moving shadow, a single pale eye beholding all the world. Tiles held firm with every step, chakra pumping through his body in one of the most basic, most essential Shinobi techniques in the world, one that didn't even have a proper name.

The use of chakra to enhance physical abilities was so necessary in their line of work that most Shinobi didn't even realize when they were doing it. It was this time-honored technique that had him leaping from roof to roof as if taking a midnight stroll down a garden path.

His purpose, however, was far from being so simple as a casual walk.

A final push of his legs and he was soaring through the air once more to land lightly upon an inhabited roof. He wasn't, as of yet, spared a single glance.

Furs wrapped around him ruffled by the nights breeze he, like the roof's initial inhabitant, spent a moment peering up at the glowing moon. He did not find it anywhere near as captivating.

"Gaara." His voice broke the silence of the night and drew the attention of the other moon-gazer.

Agitated, at first, Gaara spun to see who it was that would dare approach him. A single look had him knelt on the ground, praying to whatever other deities there may be that this flesh-bound god was not here to erase his existence.

"Naruto-Sama."

"Ah, good. You remember me." As if Gaara would be capable of forgetting the new star of his nightmares. Never before had someone terrified the holder of Shukaku as much as the young man who stood before him.

Never before had he desired so much to kill a single person.

Not that he was so foolish as to ever speak such to the being before him. He may be new to the ways of the Shinobi, as compared to the path of the Jinchuriki he had walked for so long, but he was not stupid. The last thing he wanted to do was let the one person who terrified man and Biju alike, the being who possessed the ability to erase his existence, that he one day planned to kill him.

Had someone in Suna said something similar to him he knew for a fact he would have crushed them where they stood, the entire desert turning its ferocity upon the one who would try to one day erase him. He had no doubt Naruto would do the same in this situation.

"Yes, Naruto-Sama."

"The third task is coming up soon, are you ready?" If Gaara was confused by the nature of the question- and he most certainly was- he did not show it.

"I am, Naruto-Sama."

"Good, good." Naruto nodded, almost absently, his entire posture so casual it had Gaara's skin crawling. Something was wrong here and these pleasantries seemed to belie the nature of this meeting. Almost as if sensing this, Naruto's entire tone changed. From spring breeze to a deceptive calm before a gale that would tear Gaara to shreds. "And the invasion afterwards, are you ready for that?"

And suddenly Gaara realized that he didn't know.

He hadn't spared a single thought to the planned invasion since meeting Naruto and it was only now that he realized how large an oversight it had been. This was Naruto-Sama's territory and being part of an invading force was going to bring his wrath down upon all those that dared to try.

Gaara would not allow himself to be part of that, would never permit them to drag them down with him.

Besides, had his father not told all his children that there was to be no invasion with Sound pulling out of the agreement? No doubt they had also learned that this territory was not Konoha's, but belonging to Naruto-Sama alone.

Gaara spared a quick, nervous glance at the moon that had Shukaku growing restless within his veins but knew that even his mother, for Shukaku would always be the one who raised and protected him despite what anyone else would try to claim, did not want to anger the god before him.

The real question, however, was 'could she help herself?'. It was not in the nature of the desert to remain still and harmless, it was one of the many things Shukaku had taught him over the years and, like that desert, Shukaku too desired to shift like sand in the wind and rage like a sandstorm over the horizon. And with the moon so close to full, this was only going to get worse as the last exam drew nearer.

"I- No, Naruto-Sama. I am not ready."

"Oh?" Something in those purple eyes seemed to gleam in the moonlight and Gaara had to make sure his head was turned down and to the side to avoid gazing into them. For who knew what secrets this being may be able to draw from him with but a simple gaze when those eyes seemed to see right through you?

"Mother grows restless with the moon, she needs blood- we need blood- and I cannot deny it long. I won't be able to control myself, not after fighting in the exam."

A sharp smirk found its way onto Naruto's lips. This was good, very good, and it worked perfectly for his purposes. He had been expecting to have to resort to threats, bribes, perhaps even attempt to employ reasoning- which didn't seem so odd until one remembered he was dealing with a murderous Jinchuriki who had spent his entire life defending himself from attacks and crushing all those in his way with brute force. He was not use to being persuaded or swayed, especially with logic. It would have to be gain, some boon or, in the case of a threat, his own life.- but this, this was more than he could have asked for.

"And if I could ensure your mother was someplace else- someplace safe- during the invasion?" Safety really wasn't a concern, but if the boy really did care for the Biju as he once had Mito it certainly wouldn't hurt to mention it.

Gaara's pale green eyes snapped to meet his own purple gaze, unable to help himself. Surprise, caution, hesitation, suspicion, _hope_ , all boiling in those black-rimmed eyes and telling Naruto everything he needed to know. Gaara would do this in a heartbeat to keep both he and his mother safe. Of course, Naruto also recognized that the perceived threat wasn't those participating in the invasion, neither Suna nor Konoha, but rather himself.

He found that amusing.

"You can do that?" His question possessed almost a child-like innocence, tinted only with the slightest bits of doubt, and it was that doubt that Naruto targeted most fiercely.

"Do you think I cannot? Do you believe me to be incapable of such?" He paused only briefly. "Are you calling into question the integrity of my word?"

Gaara had never believed it possible to backpedal faster than Kankurō but, somehow, he managed.

"No, no, no! Of course not, Naruto-Sama! I simply didn't realize that was an option." From his kneeling position he fell prostrate onto the ground, sinking as far into it as physically possible without the use of chakra. So focused was he on ensuring he had not drawn the young man's ire he didn't even contemplate the fact that he had been told that his "mother" could be moved from him. Or, more specifically, that Naruto could steal her away.

"I see, that does not inspire faith, Gaara. Perhaps she's better left where she is, I'm sure you're responsible enough to keep the two of you out of trouble." Even with Gaara's face to the ground Naruto could see the panic settle in.

"P-please, Naruto-Sama, keep her safe. I would do anything for her." Naruto's grin just grew larger. Perfect. Not only was Gaara admitting an easily exploited weakness, he was practically handing over that weakness into Naruto's waiting hand. The Jinchuriki of Suna was as good as his already.

Even better, the son of the Kazekage was his. That could prove very helpful in the future.

"Hmm." Naruto pretended to contemplate his options, slowly circling the bearer of the raccoon. He had already come to a decision long before this meeting started, and Gaara seemed oblivious of the fact that he had been the one to bring it up originally. Too panicked, he did not piece together the fact that this had all been planned out as closely as it possibly could before the conversation had even taken place.

Naruto was quite fortunate that, as strong as he was, Gaara had never acted as a Shinobi until recently. Otherwise, this might not have gone quite so easily.

The fear, too, was rather handy.

With a sigh and slight shake of his head, Naruto "relented".

"Very well, Gaara, I suppose I can do you a favor this time and keep her out of trouble. I'll expect you to make sure I don't regret doing this for you."

"Of course not, Naruto-Sama!" He was actually relieved to hear this, poor boy. He had already known Gaara's home life must have been fucked up, but to make him a shinobi but leave him so naive? What did they expect him to do in a situation where violence actually wasn't the answer? Perhaps, they simply didn't believe he would ever find himself in that position. How fortunate.

"I'll hold you to that. Remove your shirt, I will begin ensuring her safety." Even as he spoke he was already removing his own furs, leaving the seals on his chest exposed. Some of those seals connected to the seal-scape Mito resided in, officially contained within the main seal that was present on his sister's skin, but the rest of it had crawled over his chest from the seal on his right arm. It was the second seal he proceeded to unravel the bandages from, revealing it to the world.

Within moments, it was already glowing faintly in eager anticipation.

Hesitating slightly at the sight of the seal that so terrified his mother, Gaara nonetheless obeyed and removed his top, his gourd of sand set softly behind him.

As soon as he was done, Naruto was circling once more, eyes glued to pale flesh. After a moment he spoke.

"This is probably the most disgusting thing I have ever seen." Even with his, admittedly, limited knowledge of seals, mostly gained from observing his own seal manipulated others, he could tell that the seal on the Ichibi's vessel was absolutely horrible. Starting over his sternum, chains of seals stretched over chest and abdomen to wrap behind and connect to another seal that took up the boy's entire back.

The first seal, obviously, held the Biju itself, but the back was evidently some geniuses' work to modify an already underpowered seal to do gods know what else. No wonder the boy turned out the way he did- with this kind of seal he almost pitied the Biju!

"Alright, change of plans." He finally declared. At Gaara's confused look, he elaborated. "I was going to move her into a new seal, but I don't want to do anything that involves this mess, so I'm going to work with what you already have. There's no way I'll ever allow such a horrendous piece of work to ever be tied to me, we'll have to fix this. " With a quick cut to his palms, he placed his bleeding hands flat against the seal on Gaara's back, letting his seal know exactly what he wanted done.

Blood flowed like ink from beneath the connected flesh to wrap around his left arm while the existing ink of Gaara's seal seemed to melt away, flowing to join with the blood. Bound with liquid life and using a connection already established, it was child's play for the masterpiece of the Yondaime to move the Ichibi from one container to the other but, before the first seal was touched, the glow ended.

Idly opening and closing his left hand as he examined the seal that spread from palm to left shoulder, Naruto tried valiantly not to sway where he stood. While well within the capabilities of his seal, it would seem transferring a Biju between two seals was just barely within his own, as his chakra reserves were nearly gone and the roof was looking a mite too comfortable at the moment.

Still, the realization that he had just stored Suna's Biju within his arm brought a victorious grin to his lips and made the exhaustion more than worth it. He spared a quick glance to Gaara, noting that his fellow redhead also seemed exhausted by the process. Good, the last thing he needed was to show weakness before someone so afraid of him. Gods above, he would have taken the opportunity in the former Jinchuriki's place.

"Is- is it done?" Questioned the Suna nin, examining a torso almost entirely bereft of the seals that had so long marked it.

"Your part, at least." Confirmed Naruto. "I'll have to make sure she settles in properly for her to be able to speak to you regularly, though."

Gaara's head snapped over to the former Uzumaki prince, suddenly realizing that he couldn't hear his mother's near-constant whispers nor her cries for blood that should be howling through his skull with the moon so bright above him.

"M-mother, she's- she's gone." Naruto couldn't quite decide if Gaara sounded more astounded or horrified by his mother's disappearance.

"For now, she'll be back as soon as I have a chance to sort things out within the seal itself." He pointed lazily towards the seal that covered his left arm where Gaara's 'Mother' was now held.

"How do you do that?" Naruto just shrugged.

"Not sure about the technicals, really. I fall asleep, wake up somewhere strange, and go from there." Gaara, of course, focused on the important part.

"So, you have to go to sleep to bring mother back?"

"Well, yeah, in a way." It was more complicated than that, and his mother would be staying in his arm indefinitely, but the idea was close enough.

Gaara gave a firm nod of understanding before stumbling over to him and attempting to drag him towards the edge of the roof. Too tired to start arguing, Naruto just raised a brow.

"Our hotel room is closer, we can stop there." The fact that he wanted to hear his mother as soon as possible was left unsaid but understood well enough. After suddenly having your head empty of company after a lifetime of hearing voices, Naruto couldn't exactly blame him. He, too, had found it strange not to hear Mito in his mind after her departure and he had only had her for few years.

The fact that he was entirely exhausted had absolutely nothing to do with his willingness to crash in the Suna rooms.

* * *

Temari opened bleary eyes to take in the room before her, the light of the moon creeping in the blinds to drive away just enough of the darkness to grant her sight without disrupting her sleep-

But something else was.

She knew there were two beds in this room, one claimed by her and the other by Gaara. Kankurō had been given- more like ordered by Suna's Jinchuriki to take- the couch in the main room of something far more like an apartment than a hotel. Not that she was complaining.

Moving her eyes to Gaara's bed, she noticed the first thing that was off. Gaara was actually in it. Not sleeping, thank the gods, but just sitting there. And while that wasn't entirely uncommon- as why else would he claim the bed if he had no intention at all to use it in any form?- the fact that he sat there, legs crossed, and simply watched her certainly was.

Pale green eyes seemed entirely focused on her while she had been sleeping, something she was certain had not happened before, despite having shared rooms like this before when on missions.

That explained why she woke, she thought, but it didn't tell her why it was happening.

Of course, then she noticed another thing was off. Her bed might be on the left side, pressed against the wall, but it certainly wasn't that narrow. She eyed the foot of space remaining of the bed critically, aware that while it couldn't possibly be the wall, there was no doubting that her back was pressed against something solid.

And it was _breathing_.

She blinked- once, twice, thrice- and tried to process that without fully tearing herself away from sleeps comforting embrace.

 _Embrace!_

With one more blink she turned her eyes down to her abdomen where an arm she was pretty sure wasn't hers rested. And with the blankets bunched over her calves as they always seemed to be for her, she could quite clearly see the strange markings that covered moonlight-pale flesh.

Marking that seemed to glow faintly in a steady rhythm it took a moment to identify as a heartbeat she could feel steadily thumping against her back.

Even having discovered all of this, it took a moment for her sleep-addled brain to tie it all together.

Someone was in bed, with her- holding her!

And Gaara not only knew, but seemed completely okay with it!

For, as everyone knew, if Gaara had a problem with something it didn't exist for much longer.

Now, the biggest question- asides from _why_ , exactly, there was someone in her bed holding her- was _who_ was in her bed holding her?"

Pressed too tightly to them, she couldn't turn much and she was fairly confident in her assumption that if she squirmed too much she may wake them, which she would much rather avoid until she knew who she was dealing with, so she took in everything she had available to start with and decided to work from there.

First, obviously, was the arm with those strange markings that seemed oddly familiar. The glow too, she seemed to recall, but something was off. Was it too faint? She tried to imagine the entire arm alight with power and soon found herself standing on one of Konoha's little used roads.

Her brother- Kankurō- stared with a mix between fascination, confusion, and abject horror as her second brother collapsed prostrate onto the dusty ground, as if cowering before some great predator.

And there he was, standing proud in the harsh glare of the afternoon sun, his pale torso exposed for the world to see as it, like the moon, seemed to reflect a fraction of the sun's light. Seals stretched from a recently uncovered right arm, inky black tattoos that glowed despite the sun, as if challenging it for the right to bathe the world in light. Red hair, like flame, fell around the angled face of a noble and eyes of the purest amethyst were just as hard, cutting into your soul to judge your worth and find you wanting.

She stood before him, on this dusty street, and, likewise, he stood before her.

Naruto.

The man who called the Wolves upon a whim and had her Jinchuriki brother on his very best behavior to avoid his ire.

And that very same man was currently in her room, in her bed, with his arm wrapped around her.

Turning her head as much as she could, she only needed to see the red of his hair to confirm his identity.

As she settled back into her previous position, aware that Gaara had been watching curiously as she examined her situation, she decided it was much too early in the morning to deal with something like this, especially as Gaara seemed to have a hand in it. She would just have to deal with it later, preferably well after the sun had begun its ascent to the heavens.

With practice ease that came from doing the same thing almost every night, she casually kicked the blanket from over her feet to rest more properly over herself and, consequentially, her surprise sleeping partner. Wrapped up in both the blanket and his arm, she burrowed as best as she could into the strong warmth behind her.

Feeling strangely safe and comfortable, Temari quickly fell back into the realm of dreams, unaware of the two amethyst eyes that followed soon after.

* * *

He had felt the calling earlier, a whisper so close to sleep he had momentarily confused it in his exhaustion, but now he could hear the difference and as so as soon as Gaara's sister –Temari? Was that her name?- had settled down again- for he was not about to sleep on the floor or the couch and he wasn't going to share with Gaara- he let the calling wash over him and pull him into the seal.

There was still some work to be done.

A splash announced his arrival, the black boots he favored for their durability landing solidly within the water of his own section of the seal. Knowing what he didn't the first few times he visited this place, the world around him bent and shifted until he was standing upon familiar black marble.

In the distance he could see the gate that had come crashing down upon it and beyond it lay piles of rubble, the remains of the world he had built for Mito all those years ago. Oddly enough, nothing on his side of the seal seemed to have taken any damage from that falling gate, while even things far out of its reach were reduced to nothing on her side. Or, rather, on his sister's side.

Idly, he wondered if Naruko had met with Mito yet, and if she had been able to manipulate anything on her end as he had his. Then again, it was her side that he had manipulated in the past, now that he thought about it. Was this something exclusive to the Warden, or was it a simple matter of Naruko not contending with the changes he wished to make?

Perhaps it was something to inquire about should he actually find himself in the presence of her when speaking with Jiraiya.

Shaking his head at the destruction, he turned and walked until he was exactly halfway down his own walkway. With a mere thought, white marble rose and formed a pathway to the right, straight into the wall of the flooded basement which was his seal. Or, maybe, it was his mind, simply connecting the seal to him in a way he could understand.

He dismissed the thought; he had things to take care of at the moment.

With a wave of his hand, more for theatrics than any real need, the wall shimmered into an arch of white marble that matched the walkway he had created. Of course, saying it was just an arch didn't really do it justice. The space created was at least twenty feet wide at the base and curved upwards on each side in an ovular shape before curving to the sides again in a second, smaller, oval-like shape and coming to meet in a raised point directly above both.

Waist high, a band of blue covered the remaining wall on either end of the entryway and within the blue gold filament spread like ivy.

If he had the opportunity to completely create the seal, well, he was going to do it right. As Mito had pointed out years ago, the Biju may be prisoners here, but they were also beings that deserved respect for their might, if nothing else.

Finished with the entryway into the seal proper, he was greeted by his first look into the Ichibi's domain.

He really should have expected the sand.

* * *

For the first time in more years than they cared to count, they were dry.

But not just dry- they were _warm._

It was such an odd feeling after so long, but not one that could be considered unpleasant. In fact, the dry, warm sand was enough to relax them completely. Even the moon, still casting its light down upon them despite never having been visible in this strange world, did nothing to stir the normal bloodlust nor the desire to shift and rage through this new desert.

Surely it must need a storm or, at the very least, a light breeze to shift the ocean of sand ever so slowly like waves caught in time. But despite this, and despite their nature, they felt no need to disrupt the peace of this place. It was as troubling as it was calming, for while they enjoyed the thought of simply enjoying what was, they could not figure out what it was they were supposed to be doing here.

And if there was nothing for it here, why had it been dragged away from the waters it had rested on for years?

Still, if there was nothing for them to do at the moment, no purpose for them to fulfill, there was no need for their full might. Without so much as a thought sand poured away from them, spreading away from the Ichibi over the existing desert and fading into nothingness as if it had always been present in this desert sea.

Shukaku took a moment to observe their hands, soft and delicate as opposed to the sandy claws they had been trapped as for so long, and once again marveled at their fortune to end up in such a place.

With only a pleased look at barefoot feet, toes scrunching into sand that had to have felt the harsh light of a sun not an hour before despite the fact that it had already hidden itself well behind distant mountains, they allowed themselves to collapse backwards to more fully enjoy the lingering heat and the dry, coarse sand they had been denied for so long.

The grains that had been present upon their initial sealing had been appreciated, but the feeling of wearing a shirt or a blanket were different. A shirt was necessary, the minimum, but a blanket was comforting and, more importantly, safe.

They felt safe here, with sea as far as they could see, even if they were no longer covered in it. From surrounded by sand that would only ever press against them, as cold and damp as their surroundings after years of sitting atop water they never could determine the depth of, to surrounded by a sea of warmth that let them breathe in the cooling night air.

It was absolutely glorious.

And then the world shifted.

From nothing it became, carving itself out of the air and into the shape of a great marble archway, a band of blue and gold circling either side, but there was no wall to support this entrance, no floor to rise from or roof to support. Despite that, they could quite clearly see through it, and there was no desert.

Dark water churned in a building that seemed to slowly decay before their eyes, cracks of sunlight filtering down from somewhere high above even when it was quite clearly night here in their new world. White marble, perfectly matching the archway, created a path from the sand back to a similar walkway of black marble that lead to- was that a cage?

An ancient gate of crude iron stretched massively from floor to ceiling in that strange room, and the most curious of thoughts hit them. Were they gazing into a room, or out from one? What was this place, where a world of night could witness the light of the sun, deep within the ground. Where mountains rose off in the distance but did not hit a ceiling that was so clearly shown.

Even with the warm sand soft beneath them, the feeling of comfort seemed to slip like tan grains between their fingers.

Cautiously they rose from the sand, peering still into this strange place before them, and with a start realized that standing upon that walkway was a figure, silent and still as the night air. They blinked their eyes a few times and turned briefly to the desert one more time. There was no sound. No wind, no insects, no small mammals, reptiles, or insects. There was nothing but the light of a missing moon and a sea of sand that reached for distant mountains.

No wonder they had felt so restless.

Turning quickly back to the figure, they were relieved it had yet to move. They just stood there, watching, waiting, observing their world as they had theirs.

And without warning, they started forward.

Heavy boots scuffed against the marble with every step, their gate strong and confident as they grew ever nearer the archway.

Hesitantly, they took their own steps closer to the white marble that gleamed brilliant in the faint moonlight. This form, they realized, was as liberating as it was vulnerable and they had a sudden longing to be cocooned within the sand once more.

Most worryingly, the sand around them did not heed their desires.

They were masters of the desert, once, but this desert was not theirs and they had no power here.

When the two figures met, separated by mere steps and a line where sand met stone, they took a moment to observe each other. The figure before them was shorter than they would have expected, obviously having not been as far away as it had seemed, but their skin seemed to reflect the light of the moon almost as well as the marble their feet rested upon.

Hair, like blood or sunset, two things the loved, hung loose around their head, and they had seen enough lords to see the features that separated those of noble blood from commoners. In that moment, it made as much sense as it didn't that they gazed upon the lord of this desert, but why, then, had they observed this place as if they had never seen it before?

Had they not?

A part of a kingdom, perhaps, they had never ventured to until now, a place they had no need to be until they had trespassed.

The person was shirtless, too, which made it even more odd that they would be lord here, and their skin was marked with tattoos along both arms and across their chest, something that didn't seem to fit with their idea of lords.

They knew, of course, that image wasn't everything, but there was enough doubt in this case to help raise their own confidence.

Before the might of the Southern Desert, what was one man, lord or, most likely, not?

Still, they weren't going to underestimate anyone or any part of this world they found themselves in. At the same time, they weren't going to provide the opportunity for this other to take control of the situation from the start. They wished, however, they had at least a moment to see what form they had taken for themselves, for it was unsettling to not know how they looked to the person before them.

Would they inspire trust or doubt? Amusement or fear? Disgust or delight?

The lack of knowledge put them at a distinct disadvantage, but they wouldn't let that stop them.

"Who approaches the Ichibi within the desert?"

The figure smiled lightly, right arm starting to glow faintly as the moon, which had previously been missing despite the presence of its light, grew into existence behind the archway.

"The tales have mentioned that you were quite full of yourself, but even you should know that this desert doesn't belong to you." His grin took on a more smirk-like quality. "I am the Warden of the Kyuubi and the Host of the Ichibi. Here I am King, Sultan, and Daimyo, and you would do well to remember it."

And suddenly they recognized exactly who stood before them.

Almost reflexively, they dropped to their knees in the sand, as if praying to be spared the wrath of god.

For even free of the madness that had so long plagued them, the Ichibi still knew exactly how dangerous this man was.

"Forgive me, Naruto-Sama."

A deep, amused chuckle ran through the air, somewhere between comforting and terrifying, and the desert responded with a slight breeze of distant rain and fragrant flowers.

Any doubt as to whose desert this was vanished in an instant.

And the Ichibi suddenly felt far too small.

* * *

 **See you all next chapter.**


	59. Desert Garden

**A happy new-year to everyone.**

 **It's been a bit, but I finally have the next chapter for you. There's not much to say about it or, at least, not much I wanted to say that I can recall, but this chapter does celebrate two years of the story- time really does fly- and brings us to just shy of 400,000 words.**

 **Really, I can hardly believe it considering I didn't expect the story to last 100,000.**

 **Next chapter should reach that milestone and hopefully I can at least have the chapter posted later this month.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.**

* * *

Pale Fingers gently cupped the chin of the Ichibi, forcing them to face him. Briefly, Naruto wondered if all the Biju took on human forms and how likely it was the form he was currently observing actually was Gaara's mother.

It was, if nothing else, quite fitting that Gaara's "Mother" was actually Gaara's mother. He didn't actually know the woman's name, he realized, and for a moment he wondered if Mito had her own name, one that she hadn't stolen with her preferred form.

Amethyst eyes locked with the Biju's own Indigo- or this form's, at any rate- and he gave a small smile.

"Come now, lying in the sand is no place for a woman of your status." Unlike Mito, the Ichibi was obviously scared of- or at the very least felt threatened by- him, but as soon as he had acknowledged her status as a Biju, one of the most mighty beings to walk the earth, her confidence seemed to return faster than the sand might greedily drink spilled water in the summer sun.

Rising to her full height- which he noted, amusedly, was only about as tall as he was; even if he was one of the tallest Genin of the recently graduated class- she lightly shook her head to rid her shoulder-length brown hair of any sand that may have found its way into it while she was prostrate.

Not that he had been able to see it. With her hair a light shade of brown and with only the moon for light it was no surprise that the sand blended in perfectly.

When she was finished she gave him a faint smile- her lips were unpainted, which gave him the theory that it was only Mito who had decided to take liberties with her form. He'd have to wait until he had met a third Biju before he could draw any real conclusions- and her eyes seemed to shine with a slight haughtiness he would almost describe as pleasant, not that it made any sense to him.

Perhaps it was the fact that she was Mito, but not Mito, which threw him off so badly. Her demeanor was similar, but the pride she showed was carefully tempered because, unlike Mito, she seemed to accept that he was in charge here.

It was a mix of comforting familiarity and alien wrong that left him momentarily hesitating at how he should proceed.

Did he treat her as he had originally treated Mito, and just expect the fact that she already seemed to accept his authority to keep her in line in the future?

Or should he treat her as if she had already done what Mito did, and keep her at a distance while ensuring she was properly cared for?

Would it be possible to do neither, and somehow treat this Biju some other way, completely unbiased by his interactions with others of its kind?

He wasn't sure how well he could pull of that last one, considering how important Mito had been to him just a couple years ago.

Regardless, she needed a proper environment and, while fitting, the barren desert wasn't really acceptable for a guest of Tsukiyomi.

"Better?" He asked once she was standing. Her smile pulled just a bit wider.

"Yes, Naruto-Sama. Thank you."

The Biju, it seemed to him, enjoyed having others care for them. From his experience, at least.

He waved off the thanks. "You are of my domain now, Ichibi, It is my desire to see you comfortable and your needs met."

She seemed to delight at the idea, if they way her eyes lit up were any indication, but she remained otherwise as noble as one could after laying prostrate in the sand at his feet.

Instead she tilted her head slightly and with the smile never wavering gave a faint nod.

"Of course, my lord."

His eyes narrowed only the barest degree, catching the change from the respectful but distant 'Naruto-Sama' to a much more personal, in his opinion, 'my lord', as if she was acknowledging his claim over her as more than the fact that he held the upper hand. Not just submitting to his authority, but embracing it.

Or so it seemed.

He wasn't so foolish as to blindly believe that, not after Mito, but if she truly was sincere than he was going to be very, very pleased at how easily she had accepted everything. He may not trust the gift, but he wasn't about to look it in the mouth, either.

Because even if it was just an act, for now, it still gave him an opportunity to take care of everything he needed to in the seal before she showed her true colors. And, then, if it came down to it, he would never have to interact with his new ward ever again.

It would be a pity, should that happen, but it couldn't honestly say it would be a huge loss. Yes, he may not be able to access her power or have a companion tied to his very soul by his father's seal, but he would have victory in the fact that he had stolen her away from Suna- those who planned to betray them.

That was something that could not change and it was enough to justify his actions. If that's all he really got out of it, he couldn't exactly complain.

Again, those were thoughts were for another time, he had work to do.

"Now," Naruto declared. "Let us begin with seeing that you are provided with suitable lodging."

She blinked twice at him, not quite understanding. After all, the desert they currently stood in was already far superior to her last prison and she really didn't think she needed any more. It wasn't really suited for a noblewoman, but she wasn't exactly a human, either.

As white marble spread from beneath her lord's feet, transforming the world around her, however, she started to realize that, yes, it could become far better than it already was.

And while she wasn't some noblewoman, she certainly wouldn't turn down the chance to be treated as one.

The white stone continued quite a ways in every direction before the first walls were formed, merging perfectly with the gate Naruto had entered this desert from. Small windows were left high upon those walls, very close to the massive domed ceiling, and from those windows came soft light.

Only, that soft light was not from the moon they had left behind.

Sunlight beams of gentle gold shone through and lit up the ground to either side of the archway and left a path of shade that led from Naruto's world- that strange, flooded basement- off into the distance of her new residence. From that shadow emerged a thick rug of deep blue, decorated with patterns of golden vines and bordered with white stitching in a triangular pattern that might pass for rudimentary waves.

Tapestries- little more than colored sheets on the walls at the moment, as if they were waiting to be finished- came into being next, followed closely by delicate vases and colorful flowers of excessive fragrance supported by elaborate golden stands.

Despite being an ancient Biju, she was still having some difficulty coming to terms with just how quickly- how effortlessly- he had created this palace- for there was nothing else it could be- from the sands of the desert.

And he was doing it for _her._

Having at one point spent a portion of their captivity within a tea kettle, of all things, the Ichibi couldn't help but be amazed at her current fortune.

"Come." She was startled from her observations by the firm command and the feeling of his arm slipping around her own. He began to lead her down the blue rug, his pace leisurely to provide time for her to take in the surroundings.

For the most part, nothing really seemed to change. Tapestries, flowers, blue rugs and white stone surrounded them, separated only occasionally by large hallways containing the same. If there was anything else in this place it was surly down the hallways or within rooms she had yet to see. Still, it was a beautiful palace and she was already most grateful to be allowed to stay here.

At what she could only assume was the end of the building based on how long they had been walking a large arch, much larger than the others, rose into the ceiling. Rather than the white of the palace, it was covered entirely, wall to wall and ceiling to floor, in beaten gold. Grand designs of flowers, animals, and stylized suns dominated the work, occasionally separated to show humans surrounding- were those Biju?

Yes, groups of humans- she originally thought they might be mobs of warriors come to combat them but a closer look showed she was mistaken- gathered around the great tailed animals in worship.

The Kyuubi, all nine tails splayed wide and coming to rest upon the floor, was at the bottom, the number of worshipers apparently coinciding with the number of tails- or, perhaps, simply the amount of space needed to be filled In the archway- but the size for each Biju seemed to be roughly the same, despite the difference in tails.

Kyuubi, Hachibi, Nanabi, yes, both the beetle and the ox-topus were the exact same size as the fox, each getting a slightly bigger body to accommodate for the lack of tails around them.

She continued to move her eyes upward, Naruto standing patiently beside her with his arm still around hers, over the Rokubi only to blink in surprise to see a large, one-tailed Tanuki staring back at her. At the exact center of the archway it had jumped from the Rokubi to her, the Ichibi, and then continued upwards with the Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, and Gobi as the arch flared into its second curve and more room was available on the connecting walls.

And while the entire thing seemed to be designed simply to promote some sort of balance over the artwork- for, while a wall, it was truly nothing less than art- she couldn't help but be pleased that the palace she would be staying in had her representation so easily visible, being both in the center and the largest of the depicted Biju to account for her single tail.

Her examination finished for now- did that elephant have three eyes?- she turned to her host, who rose a silent brow in question. The almost hesitant nod- she did hope that he was asking her if she was finished rather than for her opinion on the piece he had obviously done himself, considering this was his seal domain- was answered by a sharp, firm nod from him as he continued through the arch.

Without realizing it, she came to a stop just within the grand room beyond. The blue rug stopped only a few feet in and gave way to the white marble that the entire palace seemed to be made out of- and she had yet to see a single seam that would suggest the palace wasn't carved entirely out of a single, massive piece of marble – but scattered across the floor were squares of gold, inlaid with numerous sapphires and rubies and possessing, in the center, a carved flower of white marble with delicate veins of silver running over it like trails of precious rain.

The squares were not alone in the floor, either, for connecting them all were long branches of elegantly curved gold, sapphires following the trail evenly spaced. It took her a minute of gazing at the floor to realize that it came together to make a large geometric flower- much like the one in each square- that covered the entirety of the room.

She had no doubt that it shone most spectacularly when touched by the light of the sun.

Speaking of which, the gentle golden light of the afternoon sun she had seen on the way here and given into the burning gold of late evening. And while this didn't make the flower shine, it seemed to melt the gold in the floor and the entire room was bathed in a warm glow that seemed to contradict the cool breeze she could feel from the open wall in front of her.

In fact, she couldn't exactly call it a wall. The room was circular and an entire third of it was supported only by elaborately carved pillars of marble that were covered generously with beaten gold and the sapphires and rubies that had been inlaid into the floor. There was so little of the original pillar left to be seen that it looked like bands of white breaking up the artwork that covered them.

What lay beyond those pillars, however, really caught her attention. Rather than the sand she expected to see, a massive garden sprawled out from this room filled with flowers of all colors and, she was willing to bet, fragrances.

Earlier she had felt new sands for the first time in a great many years. She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen so many flowers. She had been able to catch glimpses of some while walking down the palace halls, but that was not nearly the same thing as a proper garden. With a pleading look to her host, who offered an indulgent smile and nod of his head, she scurried out into the gardens, paying no attention to the large throne that sat in the middle of the open wall.

Naruto followed behind her at a far more sedate place- he was the one creating this world and it made being surprised by the palace rather difficult- but paused long enough to run one hand gently over the arm of the throne, pleased by the cold stone it had been carved from. He looked, briefly, to the purple cushions that were arranged comfortably upon the throne but managed to drag himself away from the temptation to take his place upon them.

The air in the throne room had begun to cool but there was a noticeable difference as soon as he had stepped down- for the floor of said throneroom was slightly elevated compared to the garden it opened to- under the evening sky. While there were walls surrounding the gardens, the roof had been removed despite the fact that this was all in his seal and worked however he decided it should.

Besides, who was going to try to break into a palace in here? This was his seal and he had provided the palace for the only other occupant. If, by some chance, someone did succeed in entering the seal, keeping them out of his palace was probably the least of his worries.

His footsteps clicked softly over the floor as he made his way to his wide-eyed guest, smiling softly as he observed the overwhelmed Biju try to take in all the colors and scents in at once after at least a decade of imprisonment in an unsuitable sealscape. He knew it was probably longer for the poor thing, but he could really only say it was a decade with certainty. They had to place the seal on the host early, after all, and Gaara was probably only a year or so younger than himself.

Stopping a few steps from her, he waited unhurried as she continued to experience his garden- or was it hers, now? He supposed it really didn't matter all that much; it was for her enjoyment in the end, anyway. He eyed the lattice of red wood that curved along the circular wall, vines flowering all across it, and to the small box of latticework in the exact middle, opposite the back of the throne. It too was covered in plants, but in a far sparser amount, and possessed a door of a similar red wood. It was far more important than it looked.

Eventually, he broke the silence himself.

"Tell me, Ichibi." He commanded softly. "Gaara- what is he to you?"

The Biju paused, one hand having just plucked a delicate lily from amongst its siblings. She brought it to her nose, enjoying the scent for a moment while she gathered her thoughts, and with a soft sigh she began to answer.

"He is my vessel, of course, but, perhaps, he is more. A servant, sometimes," came her admission. "And others a son of my own. An unwilling prison, a life I've shaped from the beginning into the monster he is becoming."

That earned a raised brow. "Becoming?"

"I was sure he was a monster until he encountered you. You were more than him, more than me, more than the two of us put together. The monster I had molded would have simply lashed out, but you made him pause, think, and scheme. There was still intelligence to tamper the bloodlust." She hesitated with the next part, worried that it might, in some way, insult him, but proceeded rather than be accused of holding back on her new host- her new lord.

For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to think of Gaara as her previous lord or Naruto as anything less than one.

"I wonder, though, if he has hesitated on this path, or simply become a new sort of monster because of it."

Rather than be insulted at the insinuation that he was turning Gaara into a monster of any sort Naruto simply nodded in understanding. "A fair question." But he offered no more on the subject of her previous host's humanity. He did, however, continue on a related subject. "Would you like to meet with him?"

Her eyes, which had remained on the flower in her hands, shot up to his in surprise.

She had been able to speak with Gaara and had some awareness of the outside world thanks to his sand and whatever his birth mother had managed to do to it, but she had never actually met the boy face to face.

But did she really want to?

Biting her bottom lip in thought, she tried to, first, think of any reasons _not_ to meet with the boy who had called her "mother" for most of his life. Other than the possibility that he may reject her- which, honestly, seemed such a small thing now that she resided within this desert palace of her new lord- she couldn't think of any legitimate reasons not to.

And she really did want to see what she had made, even if it was a monster.

Actually, especially if it was a monster. She could not deny how proud he had made her spilling blood in her name. She may have been slightly crazed by both a horrid seal and abysmal sealscape but the desert was violent by nature and so was she.

"I- I would like that, Naruto-Sama."

She may have been queen of the desert previously – changing from a genderless entity assumed male to identifying as female had been surprisingly easy, she realized idly- but everyone in the desert knew that even the sands bowed and bent as the wind commanded. And as that sand to the wind, she had easily identified and accepted who the lord here was.

"Then shall we go say hello?" It was spoken like a question, but it was obviously expected of her to accept the arm he offered and so she complied without comment.

His steps, while not rushed, were not as leisurely as before, now filled with more purpose than a relaxing tour of her newest prison- if it could really be called that. Some had commented before that a gilded cage was still a cage but they failed to realize that sometimes a cage was the better option. Most certainly for a Biju like herself, who would just be attacked and sealed again in something inferior, a gilded cage was the best they could ever ask for.

She was, of course, above humans, but that didn't mean they couldn't hurt her. Just as a human could be injured by the smallest of pests.

And while the Kyuubi or some of her other siblings might say they should simply kill off any who dared attack them she knew it would only incite more humans to try and should all humans be wiped out she would go back to being the lesser Biju, the first step between animals and the mighty Biju. She didn't like that idea at all, for she quite enjoyed being superior to sentient beings.

Well, sentient beings who weren't summons. She would readily admit she had no idea what those animals really were or what their place in this world was, if they were even supposed to have one.

He led her to the wooden door surrounded by green vines. Pausing, as if considering something, he proceeded for the handle.

It was locked.

With a scornful look at the handle he gave a sharp twist which had it turning anyway. The Ichibi blinked in confusion at the cracks that appeared through the wooden lattice that created the small building, almost as if Naruto forcing his entry to the door had caused it.

But that didn't make any sense, as the door didn't have a single crack through it. Before her eyes the damage repaired itself, leaving wooden scars where it had been previously damaged. How curious.

The opening of the door drew away her attention from the building and into the darkness beyond. Without waiting for her to be ready he stepped in, his arm still around hers.

Within a heartbeat, there was no more palace. Darkness gave way to moonlight and the marble they stood upon became a dull, flat roof.

She stared out in disbelief at Sunagakure no Sato, which she had seen with her own eyes only twice. From what she knew, he hadn't even been there once. The palace had been amazing, but this should be impossible. There was no way for him to have created the home of her previous host so quickly without having ever visited it.

Unless- he hadn't?

The thought was odd, almost nonsensical, but something about it kept her from being able to dismiss it. He was the lord of her sealscape, but where they even there still?

She turned to look at him, only to find him gazing about curiously. It only confirmed what she had thought before, they were no longer in his domain.

That, she found, was even stranger.

He was her lord, the bearer of her seal, but was that true here, in the center of Suna? Did she still owe him her allegiance when she was no longer his guest?

Almost as if sensing her thoughts, he turned to her, purple eyes staring deep into her soul- assuming Biju possessed anything of the like- and in that moment her question was most clearly answered.

 _Yes._

 _Yes, he is my lord._

She was surprised by how relieved that knowledge made her feel.

But it didn't tell her where they were or what was going on.

"You wanted to see him, didn't you?" His voice broke her from her thoughts and seemed to address her unvoiced questions.

"Go on, then." He prompted with a negligent wave of his hand. "Call for him."

Gaara, she was supposed to call Gaara.

But what would that do, really? Naruto held her seal, he had taken her from Gaara to keep her safe both from the world and, more importantly, himself. She was his now, and he would protect her, but did she really hold any claim over Gaara anymore?

Except, she did. She was the one to raise him, mold him, she was his mother and his goddess and she knew he would do anything she asked of him.

She might be Naruto's, but Gaara belonged to _her._

Filled now with the resolve to try, but not having fully banished the uncertainty at what the result would be, her first attempt was nevertheless rather weak.

"G-gaara?" More question than command, it was pitiful. A quick, hesitant glance over to Naruto, who had still not let go of their entwined arms, had her wincing with deep shame. If the scowl on his face was anything to go by, he thought it had been pathetic too. In fact, he had almost seemed disappointed, something the Ichibi found to make her feel absolutely terrible.

She was the Ichibi, the great Biju of the desert. She was a goddess that should have the sand-dwellers bowing before her in worship and she couldn't bring herself to call for her son, her greatest servant?

She couldn't trust in her lord, and do his bidding as Gaara did hers?

It was the last thought that bothered her the most.

Drawing herself to her full height and straitening her back proudly, she spared another secretive glance over to her lord, to find him watching in silent approval that filled her with warm confidence and steely resolve.

He had been the warden of the Kyuubi, she could still taste her sibling upon him, but not once did he mention the other Biju even though the seal should have allowed them all to meet. That she wasn't present seemed to indicate that she was no longer with him and brought a feeling of indignant rage to the Ichibi's bosom.

And that rage further strengthened her resolve.

Unlike the Kyuubi, who obviously had, she would not let her lord down.

And if she ever met the Kyuubi again, nine tails or not, she would make sure they knew their place at the feet of their lord.

One last breath and his will was fulfilled by his newest servant.

"Gaara!"

* * *

It was probably a good thing Temari had already drifted off into the land of slumber, secure in the arms of Tsukiyomi, for the panic she would have experienced when her youngest brother fell asleep for the first time she could remember would have had the entirety of Konohagakure believing the invasion had started early.

Naruto would not have been pleased.

* * *

Sitting on a bed doing nothing was certainly not new to Gaara, he had spent almost every night of his life doing so simply because there was nothing Gaara actually did when not killing people and the villagers of Sunagakure learned very quickly not to go out at night.

This time, however, was different.

Before, he simply waited until morning, but now he actually had something to look forward too. Naruto-Sama had said he was going to be setting up the seal so that mother could talk to him again and Gaara couldn't wait.

He had never been alone, not truly, for the Ichibi's presence had been felt by the young Shinobi even when it wasn't speaking with him. Mindless laughter, rantings, ravings, mutterings and even the occasional song had filled his head for his entire life.

And now, in a room with two others, he had never felt so utterly alone.

He did not like it.

So, anxiously, he waited for Naruto to finish his task and that in itself was a strange experience. Anxiety was new to him. He had felt excitement before, giddy anticipation of bloodshed, but when you were able to crush every problem you ever experienced, why would you ever be anxious?

The problem now was that he _couldn't_ crush this problem and the silence was starting to bother him more than the words of his mother ever could.

Even Gaara was aware that his mother had her own problems, issues he could not help her with and that she could not crush with her power, the power he had been granted to prove his existence.

But she was still his mother and he, in his own way, cared for her more than anyone else. It was one of the reasons he had been so willing to trust her to Naruto, who was even more powerful than he was. She would be safest with him, and maybe he could give her what her former host could not.

Gaara really hoped he could, mother's ramblings seemed to become less coherent as the years went on, which he had only noticed within these past few months.

Judging by Naruto-Sama's words earlier, though, his seal had been pretty shoddy. Perhaps the seal had been hurting mother? In that case, Naruto-Sama's work in changing the seal completely- from what he understood- should have helped her tremendously.

The thought of which pleased Gaara greatly.

That pleasant feeling, however, did not make time move any faster. Which, really, was most unfortunate for Gaara was never a patient person and had never before wanted something as desperately as he did now.

All he really needed was to hear her voice, a single word would do, and he would be satisfied.

So, when he heard that word, and it was his own name, no less, he wasted no time in reaching out for her comforting presence, feelings of familiarity washing over him as he answered her call.

Vaguely, he was aware that his body seemed to collapse upon the bed, deep in unnatural slumber, as he was whisked far off into a world he had never known.

A world that had been with him for his entire life, but forever out of reach.

Until now.

Naruto barely suppressed a chuckle at the surprise that crossed the Ichibi's face when calling for Gaara had actually succeeded. That quickly turned to raising a single eyebrow, half amused and half impressed, when she managed to school her features almost immediately and give off an air of absolute authority.

Not that she was, but there really wasn't any benefit to having Gaara know that at the moment so Naruto simply remained at her side, their arms still entwined. He thought that fact alone might be enough to halt any plans Gaara may have had for offing him in their tracks. If there was one person in the entire world Gaara would answer to it was her and having their arms linked like this was sure to give the impression that any move made against him would displease his mother greatly.

If nothing else, it should make him more receptive to any suggestion- or orders- Naruto had, even if it didn't stop any future assassination attempts the former Jinchuriki might believe necessary.

It only took a moment for the newest occupant to orient themselves and aside from being caught slightly off-guard at the representation of his village around him, Gaara took everything pretty well.

Until his eyes landed on the Ichibi, that is.

"M-mother?"

Some part of Naruto realized that this was probably the first time Gaara had seen his mother-either of them, really- in the flesh. The young man couldn't seem to decide what he should be doing, half ready to either drop to his knees where he stood or rush to make sure what he was seeing was real.

The Ichibi made that decision for him and Naruto realized he really needed to learn what Gaara's mother was named. Ichibi wasn't cutting it and he really didn't like 'Shukaku'.

"Come to me, Gaara." She commanded firmly, but there was warmth in her voice and a smile in her eyes. She was pleased to be able to meet with him in person and even if the seal was still addling her mind she had always held him in an affectionate light. He had, after all, been very good about making sure she received blood when she demanded it and had the most excellent habit of ensuring it was provided even when she didn't.

It was hard for someone like her not to be appreciative of such devotion.

The fact that she was free of the previous seal helped immensely, too.

Gaara wasted no time rushing over to her but the strength seemed to have abandoned him as he fell to his knees at her feet. She offered a soft smile and placed one hand atop his crimson hair, ruffling slightly as one might an obedient pet.

Which, really, wasn't too far off as far as the Biju was concerned- or, so Naruto thought.

He reached up hesitantly and grasped her delicate hand within both of his, rubbing his thumb over her flesh as if making sure she wasn't a mirage or some fading dream.

"Kaa-Sama." The relief in his voice was plain enough, but his eyes seemed close to tears of joy. Not only was he able to hear his voice again but he was able to touch her, feel her, and gaze upon the face of his mother- his only precious person despite all his claims to only love himself.

For a long time, she had been a part of him, but having her separate like this only confirmed the fact that he had never been alone and would never really would be.

He had never, in the entirety of his life, felt such great happiness.

As his eyes continued to drink in the form of his mother, he noticed an arm that wasn't hers. Curiously, he followed the tattooed arm until he reached a body just as tall as his mother and with deep red hair. Purples eyes that he knew could see through him gazed down from beside his mother and he knew at once who this was.

Naruto-Sama had kept his word and brought his mother back more than ever before and for that Gaara was grateful. But there was more here, far more. Mother had been scared of him when they first met, for good reason, but now she stood next to him comfortably- relaxed as much as her formal posture would allow- with his arm entwined with hers.

Gazing up at the man he had allowed himself to hate and fear since they first met, the man he owed this moment to and had been instrumental to his current happiness, he realized that as intimidated as he had been, Naruto-Sama had never actually done anything against him or mother.

In fact, everything he had done was to ensure mother- and through association Gaara- was kept out of harm's way. He had even taken her into a seal upon himself, becoming her new host, to make sure she was taken care of.

Gaara came to the only conclusion he could.

"Tou-Sama."

Naruto may have enjoyed the pretty blush that covered the Ichibi's cheeks if he hadn't found himself caught so completely off-guard.

"Well," He began after a minute of stunned silence, trying to ignore the way the Ichibi giggled at his surprise. "I suppose we'll need to talk about this soon. In the meantime, I think you and your mother should probably spend some time getting reacquainted…son."

He wasn't even going to pretend it wasn't strange as hell to be saying any of this.

Though, he supposed, his experience with the Wolves had, in some small way, prepared him for something like this. As he had just been shown, however, being slightly prepared was vastly different from being ready for a former Jinchuriki and current foreign Shinobi of a village planning on betraying yours to look at you like a father.

As Gaara and the Ichibi moved to a nearby bench to spend their first face to face time in over a decade together, Naruto softly mused to himself;

"A Biju, her keeper, and their homicidal son." He shook his head. "What a family we'll make."

Obviously he hadn't been quite as quiet in his musings as he had thought, for the Ichibi heard and practically beamed in joy at his words.

Though he would never admit it, that smile from her made him more nervous than the thought of Gaara as a son.

* * *

 **Kukukukukuku. See you all next chapter.**


	60. Other Kaa-San

**Yeah, not exactly the end of January, is it? I was nearly done with the chapter early February when my laptop died on me. I managed to scrape together enough for a replacement desktop- which I had been intending to get for some time now but never had the funds to spare- but it turns out it was on backorder and after two weeks I canceled the order and chose a different one that arrived about a week ago.**

 **Even better, the latest chapter- and the two before it- weren't saved to my cloud for some reason so I- lacking the proper adapter for the laptop's drive- had to go in and get that recovered.**

 **At long last, however, I have both my computer and the chapter. Not only that, I went ahead and spent all my free time doubling what I had written so you get an extra long chapter.**

 **Also, to anyone who may have been waiting for that one-shot about Tatsuki I was considering forever ago, I did finally start working on it. I will, however, avoid making any promises about when it will be done.**

 **Not too much more to say in this AN, so I'll try to wrap this up quickly.**

 **First, this chapter will break the 400,000 word mark for this story and, yes, that's before this AN. I'm not _that_ bad.**

 **Second, as I'm still receiving a lot of comments about it- though that may just be from new readers- I would like to take a moment to talk about Naruto 'Not being a Shinobi'. To be perfectly clear- Naruto wants to be a Shinobi. It's been his dream since before his mother and sister left and it's not going to change anytime soon.**

 **He does, however, have his priorities and ensuring the well-being of those he leads will always trump his own desires as far as he's concerned. It's not a lack of interest or a bout of arrogance but a sacrifice on his part- one that may or may not be unnecessary soon enough.**

 **The last two items on the agenda would be, first, that I'll be taking down a lot of my older stories soon [Everything with the exception of 'Born into Wickedness', 'Botsraku', 'Awaken, Noblesse', and, of course, 'SealKeeper: He Who Binds'.] as I really don't see the point of keeping them posted. I'll leave a list of the stories I've removed on my profile after they're gone and I may or may not rewrite some of them- and, you know, finish them- sometime in the distant future.**

 **The final item for today is, naturally, a big thanks to ncpfan for his help looking over my work.**

 **We've waited quite long enough, yeah? Let's get started.**

* * *

Kankuro woke up far later than he was used to, the sunlight glaring brightly from the hotel window and bathing the main room in its accursedly cheerful self. He really did hate everything that interrupted his sleep, sunlight being one of the main culprits, but he was more puzzled than anything about exactly how long he had slept. Normally, Gaara's threats to his life for lazing about or his sister's warfan greeting his skull with all the energeticness of the morning sun would drag him away from the sweet embrace of sleep, but today they seemed to be hiding from the light within the bedroom proper.

He was still a little miffed that he hadn't gotten a bed and was instead forced to spend his nights on the couch. Not that the couch was uncomfortable, for it made his own bed pale in comparison, but because the beds were bigger and had room to stretch out,which would have been amazing.

And if the couch was this good, just imagine what the beds would be like.

He understood why his sister got one, being the eldest, and there was no way he was going to go against Gaara claiming the other- he wasn't suicidal, after all- but he still couldn't figure out why his younger brother needed a bed in the first place.

If he was just going to spend the night sitting on it and staring at the night sky out the window than surely he could do the same from the couch, right? And then there would be no chance of his wakefulness during the night stopping his siblings- though, often, Kankuro felt Gaara only saw them as his teammates necessary for reaching stronger opponents to crush- from getting their own sleep in a separate room.

Of course, even if his reasoning was sound, he was not so foolish to think Gaara would even care to hear it in the first place and Kankuro was a puppeteer. Risk was something they tried very much to avoid, thank you. That's why they hid and had puppets do the work for them. Far more Shinobi-like than many others these days. You did not make it far as a puppeteer by being careless.

Still, the fact that they weren't up was puzzling- especially considering that Gaara was _**always**_ up because of his 'mother', so there really wasn't any reason Kankuro could think of for him to remain in the bedroom for so long.

Curious- probably far too much so for his own good despite his claims to be a cautious puppet master- he tiptoed over to the bedroom door, glad that he didn't have to worry about Baki, who was staying in a smaller hotel on his own. He could have lodged with them, which would have given the suna group an extra room like the one the siblings currently called their residence, but the man was wise enough to keep some difference between himself and the Jinchuriki as the moon was waxing full.

Unlike Gaara's siblings, the sensei was not actually required for the exams and could be easily replaced should the redhead loose control.

Or, rather, simply not put any effort into maintaining it. The only reason Gaara would keep himself from harming his siblings, it felt like, was because he wanted to stay in the exam. Normally, Kankuro was quite sure the death threats were completely serious and that Gaara would have no difficulty carrying them out upon a whim.

These thoughts, naturally, reminded Kankuro he was just glad that Baki was away, because Baki would call him a moron for trying to sneak into the room where he knew Gaara would be sitting on his bed, wide awake. The realization actually had him pause for a second, considering, before a sleepy mumble from his sister and a light snore sounded through the room.

Simultaneously.

So, either there was another person in that room who shouldn't be their or- gods above forbid- Gaara was currently fast asleep. As horrible as the second option would be, it was something Kankuro would have to know.

And if it meant he could wake Gaara up before he lost control of his body? Well, Konoha owed him big time and so did Temari. He had about equal chances of cashing in that favor from either of them, unfortunately, and he once again wondered what was driving him- his curiosity aside- to sneak into the room.

The door creaked ever so softly and Kankuro realized with a start that he had already made it to the door, which hiung half-open to the room beyond. Well, too late to back out now, Gaara would have heard that without a doubt.

The fact that Kankuro was still breathing and not a mangled corpse buried in the sand was a good sign indeed.

A few hurried, silent steps later and he was in the room proper.

He nearly had a heart attack.

Not because Gaara was, in fact, sleeping most peacefully within his bed, most surprisingly, but rather because there was someone within Temari's bed.

A malke someone.

A male someone with his arms around her.

A male someone with their arms around her who had her arms around them.

Temari, his older sister, seemed to be sharing- quite willingly- her bed with this male someone which, quite honestly, ranked below Gaara becoming a pacifist in possibility.

For Gods' sake, she was enjoying a gentle embrace with they guy- Temari was _**not**_ a gentle kind of girl, and so the constant hits to his head from her warfan could attest to.

With a quick pinch to himself and the realization that he was not dreaming Kankuro temporarily forgot that Gaara was also in the room, sleeping happily for the first time in his entire life.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Perhaps not the most intelligent course of action.

* * *

Temari returned to the land of the living with an irritated groan. What was probably the best sleep she could ever remember having and her idiot brother just had to interrupt it. Out of all of them, she'd expect him to be taking the chance to sleep in as much as possible, so why did he choose today of all days to get up before them?

The light from the still open window told her it was quite a bit past the time she would normally sleep but she dismissed that fact and turned instead to her sleeping companion. Pale flesh was warm beneath her as she lay upon his chest, two arms wrapping around to rest firmly upon her lower back.

Slow breathing and a steady heartbeat told her his sleep hadn't been interrupted by her brother's shout and tempted her to forget about it in favor of returning to sleep. Idly, she began tracing the various markings that covered his pectorals. She could recall the seal on his left side, over the heart, and the right arm and pectoral were still covered by the seal he had shown to get Gaara to back down, but the markings on his left arm and shoulder were, she believed, quite new.

Not that she had seen him since that day.

She probably should have been upset to find him in her bed – and she had decided to wait until morning before dealing with this fact- but she was far too comfortable to bring herself to be upset at anything more than the fact that her sleep with her new companion had been interrupted. Besides, if nothing else Garra seemed to approve and that meant either doing what he would like or avoiding upsetting someone her youngest brother wouldn't dare go against- possibly both.

Either way, it was in her best interest not to go against either of the redheads and she was quite enjoying it anyway.

Everyone seemed to win in this case except Kankuro, but no one really cared about him anyway.

Almost as if he knew the thought of him had been so easily dismissed, he choose that moment to speak up again.

Well, not speak so much as shout, really.

And Gaara was still trying to sleep, not that Temari had any idea.

"WHO THE FUCK IS IN YOUR BED, TEMARI?!"

Che, as if it was any of his business. Ignoring him, she rested her cheek against the pale chest and closed her eyes, relaxing to the beating of the heart beneath her.

The sudden wave of killing intent, however, broke her from her lazy musings and informed her quite plainly that whatever Gaara had been doing to stay quiet for the first shout, he had not been pleased by the second.

"Kankuro…." It was drawn out, dangerous, and promised a great deal of pain upon the adresse but it also sounded…sleepy?!

Lifting her left shoulder off of her sleeping bedmate and turning over to be nestled to his left and leaning against his warm body, she was surprisingly pleased that his arms wrapped around her without hesitation, two warm hands resting below her shirt just above her hips.

Such was the pleasant surprise, it seemed to counteract the unpleasant surprise of seeing her youngest sibling pull himself up from his pillow and glare blearily from a cocoon of blankets at the middle sand sibling. She couldn't tell if she found the act of literally rubbing sand from his sleepy, raccoon eyes adorable or absolutely horrifying.

Feeling as secure as she was in the arms of someone Gaara wouldn't dare go against, however, had her leaning towards adorable. Hell, she was almost tempted to invite him to join them in her bed so she could use him as a stuffed animal.

The fact that she would even dare consider doing so simply served to remind her of how much she was enjoying her current position and how impossibly safe she felt.

And it wasn't as if Gaara didn't look like he was in need of a few more days of sleep or that she had never had a similar urge to do so when they were all much younger. He was her youngest brother, after all, and she had always wanted to take care of him.

Now might be her only chance.

Gently elbowing the young man behind her, he seemed to understand her wordless request even in his sleep- if he was still asleep after that outburst and Gaara's displeasure being known- and he backed up to the wall dragging her all the while, which just seemed to support him having been awoken but not caring to actually get up, which she also found to be rather pleasing.

Now with more room in her bed, despite it being intended for a single occupant, she extended an invitation to a third.

"Come over here Gaara." She ordered, despite never having dared do anything of the sort in the past. Her arms spread open, showing her brothers exactly where she was talking about. While Kankuro's jaw dropped in utter disbelief, Gaara only hesitated for a second before leaving his bed, blanket cocoon still wrapped around him, and shuffling over to his sister's bed.

He took a moment to look over its sleeping occupants before tilting his head in confusion. "Nee-Chan?" Temari had wanted to hear that from him for years and was confident in the fact that this had been a good idea. He paused for a moment though, sleepy and confused, which she most definitely did think was adorable, before gazing at her companion and back to her. "Other Kaa-san?" She blinked in confusion but judging by the groan from behind her the other occupant of the bed knew exactly what her brother was talking about.

Rather than respond verbally- as she didn't know how to- she just opened her arms wider and Gaara wasted no time in crawling into the bed to join them.

A long chain seemed to extend from her bedmate and the curtains were quickly drawn, plunging the room into a comfortable darkness that made staving off sleep even more difficult.

Kankuro, meanwhile, still didn't understand what was going on.

"But….What…I mean…..?"

"Kankuro" Gaara's threatening growl interrupted him, one teal eye glaring from the cocoon of blankets and his sister's arms. "Shut up, or I'll kill you."

As the middle sibling quickly exited the room, a fellow redhead in Mizu no Kuni found themselves inexplicably pleased and Ao found himself pitying some man he had never met.

* * *

When Baki went to visit his students, the sight of Kankuro at the door with a box of pastries was a bit odd, but not too out of the ordinary for the group he led. With a homicidal Jinchuriki, temperamental Wind Mistress, and a Kabuki there were plenty of odd situations they found themselves in both on missions and within the village of Sunagakure.

It was, of course, a bit late for breakfast, being nearly noon, and Temari would have been up hours ago normally which made the possibility of Kankuro having upset her rather high. It wasn't the first time the middle sibling had tried using pastries to get her to forget about his "transgressions".

While Temari always seemed to enjoy them, it had yet to ever get her any less angry at him.

Mildly curious about what had been done this time, he followed the boy into the hotel room fully expecting to see a fuming Temari, her fists resting on her hips and Warfan within reach, and Gaara watching on impassively, probably perched upon the windowsill. Instead, Kankuro went for the small kitchenette and placed the box of pastries down upon the small table around which three others sat.

Temari looked positively cheerful where she sat, a finished cup of coffee before her and her Warfan strangely absent. Gaara, most surprisingly, was sat right next to her.

And not just next to her, but actually pressed snugly into her side and looking quite comfortable. Temari didn't seem at all nervous about his proximity, either, which was new.

Somehow, however, the third party at the table was even stranger. Not only were they right next to Gaara, sitting pressed into the boy's side, but the young man serenely sipping his coffee was there shirtless and relaxed.

Gaara should have kept him from being relaxed and he never thought Temari, despite quite obviously being a budding young woman, would ever tolerate a shirtless stranger around her. She had never shown any interest in boys over the years and the young man couldn't be a oblivious civilian who wouldn't understand how dangerous Gaara was because they had seals covering both arms and their upper torso.

It took only a second more to realize something that, now apparent, was even more unsettling for the normally stoic Baki.

Temari and the shirtless redhead hadn't pressed close to Gaara so much as it appeared Gaara had squeezed himself between the two who had already been sitting quite closely together.

Gaara had wanted to be between the two of them, and he even seemed pleased with his current position between them despite how squished he must have been.

Baki honestly didn't know what to think of the situation, especially when Kankuro hurried to gather plates from the nearby cabinets and placed them before each of the table's occupants.

When Kankuro, finished with his task, ran into the bedroom he had been kicked out of on their first day here for the express purpose of hiding, Baki new something was very, very wrong.

The slight smile on the stranger's face as he calmly invited him to sit as if this was their hotel room only unnerved the Suna Jounin more.

Especially when neither Temari or Gaara seemed at all perturbed by the young man taking charge.

* * *

He sat down at his desk, idly noting the paperwork had grown in his absence, and tried to ignore the fact that all the Wolves who were in the apartment had decided to take up positions around his office. Evidently they had not liked being ordered to remain here when he went off to meet Gaara last night.

The fact that he hadn't come home probably didn't help.

He cared for them, he really did, but this was a little excessive.

Still, if it helped them calm down he would allow them to remain.

The female Wolf- who for reasons he didn't understand had chosen to take up a position directly behind him- began rubbing his shoulders even as he started upon the paperwork.

Yeah, they could definitely stay for a bit.

* * *

Three hours after starting his paperwork and the guards were down to three. The only other man in the room was leaning against the wall over in the corner, able to see both the door and his Lord, and was obviously rather amused while his two female packmates entertained themselves by alternating between rubbing Naruto's shoulders and playing with his hair.

Naruto had actually finished his work half an hour ago but was loathe to keep the two from their fun. He already knew he needed a hobby, but perhaps he wasn't the only one. He could probably arrange for a rec-room of sorts without too much trouble, but perhaps he could set up a resort specifically for his Wolves. Failing that, perhaps just an arrangement with an existing resort to provide access of the facilities to his children so they could take the time to relax.

Of course, then it was a matter of getting them to actually visit the resort instead of lazing about near him, as they would no doubt prefer.

The thought that he would actually have to take a vacation himself in order to get them to the resort was briefly humored before he realized they would be even more on guard because he was trying to relax . He gave a mental groan; they really were too much like their father for their own good.

His musings were interrupted by the opening of his office door and the tensing of his Wolves. They relaxed, slightly, when the visitor proved to be Orochimaru herself, her ever-present smirk turning into a smile as she saw her godson.

"Ah, Naruto-Kun, you're back." He gave a distracted hum in response, the two Wolves behind him having switched back to gently kneading his shoulders, and Orochimaru's grin turned back into an amused smirk.

"Having fun, are we?" It was half question and half purr as she watched her Crimson Prince be pampered. She managed to quickly squash the brief feeling of anger she had. This is how he should have spent his life, this is what he deserved. And while she knew he wouldn't be the Naruto he was today without experiencing what he had she was still angered that it had been necessary.

"Hmm." Another hum, this time followed by words. "Was there something you needed, Godmother?"

"I never need a reason to visit you, Naruto-kun." He hummed yet again, his eyes half-open by will alone, as she took a seat at the edge of his desk.

"So there wasn't something you needed?" She gave a chuckle of amusement, though it was very nearly a giggle in this new body of hers. She didn't suspect she'd be able to get her intimidating chuckle back until she had a vessel with a deeper voice or messed around with the current vessel's vocal cords. As Naruto seemed to like her just fine as she was at the moment, that could be put off for a bit.

"Well, perhaps not needed…" She trailed off, one finger drawing absent shapes upon his desk as she looked down and away from him, and he gave an amused snort at her act.

"What was it you wanted, then?"

She gave another giggle, something he still found difficult to connect with the S-rank rogue ninja.

"Oh, Naruto-Kun, you know me, I want lots of things." His eyes had closed fully and he missed the brief flashes of red that dusted her cheeks. Not that he would have been able to see it anyway with the way her head was turned.

A silence descended upon the room, interrupted only by the occasional pleased groan from the man who called himself Tsukiyomi. The red became more visible upon the Sannin cheeks, growing faintly with every groan.

"So," Tsukiyomi himself eventually broke the silence, completely unaware of the amused looks his Wolves were casting over him and at his blushing godmother as they both worked in silent agreement to elicit the greatest response they could from her using only their Lord's groans. "What was it you came for today?"

"The final exam is only a week away, and I understand you're making moves with your little flock around that time…"

"And?"

"I think the invasion and the chaos amongst the Hyuuga would be the perfect opportunity to smuggle one out, don't you?"

Naruto stayed silent for a moment, simply enjoying the fingers dancing firmly over his shoulders, before he opened his eyes to meet Orochimaru's hopeful gaze.

"So you want a Hyuuga, then?"

Her finger resumed tracing the desk.

"Only if it's not too much trouble, Naruto-Kun." Her tone became slightly breathy. "I would really appreciate it."

He went silent again, considering, before he inquired; "What kind of Hyuuga would you need?"

"Hmm," She tried not to sound too pleased that he was actually thinking about granting her request. "Well, the perfect vessel would be a Hyuuga female around twenty years of age, main family, but there's no Hyuuga that fits those requirements and I'm not sure how the Byakugan would mix with the Sharingan if I take over a body with each."

He raised a brow, a silent prompting to continue.

"A male Hyuuga of the main family would probably be best, as with just one of them I could impregnate several of my Kunoichi, but I could use a branch member so long as no one activated the caged bird seal before I can retrieve the necessary samples from them. With the Coup you have your hands in, the caged bird seal will likely never be activated again but I can't dismiss the possibility that the Hyuuga will fail you, which would lead to all the seals being activated."

Naruto thought about it for a minute, recognizing that the seal being activated would be a very bad thing for his plans and that the Byakugan was a terrible resource to be thrown away if things went wrong.

"I'll see what I can do." He said finally. "But be ready to have one of your agents prepared to extract samples of a branch Hyuuga before the invasion. I might be able to have Hinata send one your way to ensure the clan doesn't die out if things go wrong."

Naruto had no idea how the main family had kept branch members from fornicating with outsiders and spreading unsealed Byakugan users or why Kumogakure never paid some Konoha prostitute a million yen to get impregnated by a branch member and make their way back to Kumo, but he would take advantage of the fact that the seal was death-activated to clear all genetic material and wouldn't be able to stop someone from simply taking a sample and artificially inseminating willing females using it.

What a terrible oversight on their part.

Then again, he knew how the seal worked because he had interacted with it using his own when rendering Hinata's defunct. Not everyone else- in fact, no one else as far as he knew- had that sort of advantage to grant them insight on the matter.

The SealKeeper really was incredibly useful and he was looking forward to implementing some of its capabilities in his future plans.

"Ah, you're the best, Naruto-Kun!"

"You're only saying that because I get you nice things."

She gave another giggle.

"A girl does appreciate nice things, Naruto-Kun, you should always keep that in mind." A non-committal grunt was the response she received.

"Was there anything else, Godmother?" The Sannin pouted at him, arms crossing beneath her bust.

"Mou, doesn't 'Orochimaru-Chan' sound so much better than 'Godmother'?" His blank look became a sigh as he closed his eyes and tried to remind himself that he was talking to an S-ranked Shinobi- well, Kunoichi these days- who was infamous for human experimentation and treachery.

Was it something about being around him or were personalities simply glossed over to make legendary Shinobi seem so much better than the rest of them?

Grudgingly, he admitted that it was probably something to do with himself. The Wolves were not legendary Shinobi- though they were slowly making a name for themselves- and they acted pretty childishly around him too. He couldn't tell if it was his maturity allowing them to disregard their own while in his presence or some attempt to get him to loosen up.

With his luck, probably a mix of the two.

"Was there anything else then, Orochimaru-Chan?"

"Ooh~, that's much better Naruto-Kun. I love the way you say my name."

'She leads her own hidden village, one allying itself with the country under my command, she could break you in half in an instant but would sooner offer you the world.'

Well, with those thoughts running through his head it was a whole lot easier to humor the woman. If this is how she wanted to act around him he really wasn't in any position to stop her. He could probably ask that she stop, but he had a feeling it would only lead to more pouting which, while cute, held more sway over him than he was comfortable with.

Even when acting so childish and sweet, she would always be a snake in the grass.

"Anything else?" He prompted again, purposefully avoiding using her name in an effort to keep her from being too distracted. He'd have to keep the effect it had on her in mind, though. Just in case.

She gave a slight pout, obviously recognizing what he just did but keeping her protest to only the barest of pouts. It was adorable, and that was kind of unnerving. The entire situation, he suspected, would seem rather surreal for some time yet. Maybe after she had changed bodies once or twice more he would be more used to it, but for now he did his best to take everything about her in stride. It was the best policy he was able to come up with, honestly.

Giving up the pout in favor of a disappointed sigh, she admitted "No, that was everything Naruto-Kun." She paused for a second, thinking, before she continued. By the slight surprise and embarrassment in her voice she had realized something. "Unless, of course, there's something I could do for you my Little Prince?" She seemed almost hopeful that there would be something she could do for him or something she could provide him with.

it could have been so she didn't feel like she was asking for something without giving in return or because she really did have a desire to be of service to him. Judging based on his interactions with her, he suspected it was the latter but that she'd claim it was the former if anyone but he asked.

Well, if she was in a good enough mood that she didn't gut whoever had dared question her.

He was reasonably certain that only he could get away with that, but he wasn't willing to actually test that theory out quite yet. As amiable and caring as she seemed to be, and disregarding the fact that she seemed entirely devoted to him, he really hadn't known her long enough to know exactly how her mind works.

he did have a good idea, though, for it seemed remarkably similar to how his own did.

That thought actually made him a bit more uneasy than how cute he found her pout which, in turn, made it easier for him to accept the pout. Unfortunately, that just made the idea that they thought so similarly sometimes even worse.

It was a vicious cycle of positive feedback, and the only thing it was really accomplishing was making him more at ease with her adorable pout.

That too was a rather unnerving thought, and he really needed to bring his attention to something else before he went too far down that particular, pouty, rabbit-hole.

"Hmm." His drawn out hum was both to let her know he was still thinking and to help him from his previous thoughts.

Eventually he realized that if he did need something it wasn't coming to mind. Well, nothing realistic anyway.

"Unless you have a way to manipulate time so I can both care for my Pack and my Flock while keeping up with my training, I don't think there's anything specific I need at the moment." He replied at last. Orochimaru grinned.

She might not have an immediate solution, but now she knew a problem he was facing and could start working towards possible solutions.

"I'll see what I can come up with." She promised. "You know nothing is impossible for me given enough time."

The response to that was a simple snort as he surrendered himself back to the ministrations of the Wolves behind him. Speaking of training, he really did need to see if Yuugao was available for some sparring. Hell, he needed to get out and do something period. He spent so much time these days worrying about his Wolves and his Little Shepherdess's Flock that it was pretty rare for him to get out and when he did- like last night- things rarely ended up going to plan.

Establishing himself as the dominant one in a relationship between himself and a Biju, becoming the father-figure of a neglected Jinchuriki, starting the process of repairing said Jinchuriki's relationship with his older sister, and sharing a bed with that very same older sister was certainly not on the agenda when he had left to speak with Gaara last night.

Plans, he idly mused, seemed to go quite awry around him, even his own.

Fortunately, he didn't have to say 'especially his own', as most of his went well enough, but even he would admit he encountered quite a few surprises in his own plans. And not just surprises, but really, really unexpected situations. Surprises were for things going bad, or for great fortune when doing something, not for homicidal Jinchuriki deciding you were their new dad.

He didn't even know how to categorize something like _**that**_.

Luckily, pseudo-fatherhood wasn't something he would have to get used to from the beginning. The Wolves had seen to it that he received a great deal of practice regularly. Speaking of which, he really needed to spend more time with them personally, too, which was definitely a higher priority than resuming his training.

Looks like he had already started on that with these three, though, so that was good. The girls were enjoying playing with his hair and the Wolf in the corner seemed greatly amused by both that and his interactions with his godmother.

It may not have been direct interaction with the three, but they were obviously quite pleased to both be in his presence when he seemed so relaxed and in the girl's case to be having even a small measure of physical contact with him.

If it wasn't so serious to him, he may have been amused by the fact that his efforts to care for the Wolves had led him to neglect them. Not that they would feel that way, he knew, as they were perfectly satisfied to know that they were being of service to him. Any additional attention he gave them was simply a bonus and, he had no doubt, a great privilege.

He was fairly certain these three would be sharing their story tonight quite proudly. Even better, he had a feeling the Wolves they told would be quite envious of this simple interaction. Which, of course, only highlighted the fact that he needed to spend more time with his Wolves.

Looks like he wasn't going to be training after all, for as much as he'd like to become the Shinobi he knew he could become the Wolves and Hinata's flock would always take priority in his heart and he could not think himself any sort of proper leader to follow his own dreams when the well-being of so many rested on his shoulders.

His responsibility to them would always outweigh his own desires, even if they would happily suffer to see those desires fulfilled.

He cared for them too much to let that happen.

Amused, he recalled his earlier thoughts and had to agree with himself. They really were too similar to him for their own good. Or, perhaps, it was the fact that two entities- the Wolves and Himself- were both trying to take care of each other even at cost to themselves.

They were both pretty damn stubborn, too.

The voice of his godmother broke his musings and caused one of his eyes to crack open.

"Well," She said. "I'm off. I'll try not to cause too much trouble." He gave another amused snort at that. He was just about to ask her to stay out of any.

"Please do, Orochimaru-Chan." Her bright grin showed just how much she enjoyed it when he called her that and a dusting of red crossed her cheeks. That red only grew brighter as she leaned in to press a quick kiss goodbye to his own pale cheek.

"For you, Naruto-Kun." She promised. "You're just too beautiful to resist."

As she slipped from his desk and his office, the two Wolves behind him silently agreed.

* * *

Experience telling his he couldn't possibly be finished with paperwork despite the fact that it seemed as though he really had managed to do it all for the day, he sent one of the Wolves to visit Mai and collect any unfinished paperwork she had. Unlike Orochimaru, he had known Mai for years and the chances that she didn't pass work up to him because she felt like he was wearing himself down were far too great.

Luckily, it seemed that she had been taking a break- tea with Tsume, naturally- and so the Wolf he sent encountered zero resistance. He was sure she was going to be rather put out with him upon her return, provided she noticed at all.

Who was he kidding, she would notice.

He would endeavor, however, to have some of the work he took completed and slipped into her finished pile before she got back from her little date with Tsume. Maybe she'd miss that and her larger finished pile would simply confirm that her break had been more than deserved, which it was.

That girl really worked too hard for him, he needed to make sure she relaxed more.

Hmm, maybe a trip to a hotspring resort? No, she'd never go for that. The thought of leaving work for even a day wouldn't agree with her which means she'd have to be convinced to take any sort of vacation.

Perhaps he could provide an all expense paid trip to a resort for two to Tsume and mention how hard Mai had been working? That would probably work.

Despite being his most loyal Wolf- or, perhaps, because of it- she was the one most likely to defy him, especially if she felt that doing s he asked would somehow affect him negatively, which would undoubtedly be her belief in this case.

Tsume, on the other had, seemed to be a pretty good weakness to use against her in matters like this.

Whether that was because the two were romantically involved, Mai was too attracted to her to resist, or because Mai valued having another woman in a position of authority to speak with and look up to he really didn't know. Perhaps a combination of all three? He had never asked about the relationship the two had be it friends or something a bit more serious. It really wasn't any of his business how she unwound after all the work he put her through.

Pushing thoughts of what the two woman might get up to with each other far, far from his mind, he focused instead on his new pile of paperwork and diligently began his task. It was not long into it, however, that he was interrupted once again by a Kunoichi of Otogakure.

This one, however, was much younger and not anywhere near as powerful.

"Ah, Naruto-Sama?" She peaked her head in after a hesitant knock, not wanting to interrupt anything too important. Not only was he important to her Mistress, Orochimaru, but he was, she and Dosu had realized, the true power behind Nami no Kuni. Someone like that probably had much better things to be doing than speaking with her and would probably think very little of her personal problems especially when it dealt with issues she had with a teammate on a Genin team.

It should be so far beneath his notice it wasn't even funny and she briefly reconsidered what she was doing. Perhaps this whole idea had been poorly thought out. Then again, Dosu would only be able to keep Zaku occupied for a bit before they risked their third teammate doing something stupid. With their luck, it would be something that irritated the man they wished a favor from.

Not a combination to their benefit.

Taking a calming breath, she did her best to keep her eyes focused on his lips, avoiding his eyes submissively but showing that she was also paying complete attention to his person.

"Hmm?" his inquiry was a questioning hum as he turned his attention from his papers to his visitor. A slightly concerned frown crossed his lips. Neglecting work, neglecting training, neglecting his Wolves, and now he was neglecting his guests.

He bumped his need to restructure the Wolves to provided better administration with less involvement of himself to near the top of his priorities. He could really use the spare time.

With a flick of his wrist his current paper was signed with his approval and added to the pile of completed work, which he handed to his current guard, the Wolf who had previously been standing in the corner of the room. The two who had been behind him had mentioned something about dinner before leaving the room, so he wasn't about to stop them and he really didn't feel the need for guards in his office when he had Wolves around the expanded apartment who could be at his side at a moments notice.

"Take this to Mai's office, please." He requested, despite the fact that any request he made to a Wolf was automatically an order. "Somewhere in the middle of the stack is fine, but if you have more time feel free to incorporate it more thoroughly. If we can help it, I'd like to keep her from finding out."

The Wolf nodded in understanding before taking the papers and his leave. The Oto forces were not a threat to his Lord, just as their leader wasn't, and even if this Genin tried something he had supreme confidence in his Lord's abilities.

Of course, he would also be sure to notify some of the other Wolves on the way out so they could be nearby- just in case.

Realizing that she was alone with him seemed to give her a bit more confidence but she continued to avoid his eyes.

"Good evening, Tsuchi-San." He greeted her. "How are you today?"

"Well enough, Naruto-Sama." She had not moved from the doorway yet and so he quickly invited her in.

"I think it's about time for a break," he said, stretching slightly and tossing his pen onto his desk. "Come on in and we can talk for a bit."

"Of course, Naruto-Sama." The voice, while still slightly demure, gained notable confidence and she lifted her face to give him a small smile. It must have been his imagination, but he could have sworn she was trying to pull off 'sultry'. It wasn't really working, but it was kind of cute.

That thought was only reinforced by the way she sashayed- well, kind of, she hadn't quite gotten it down yet but it was a very good attempt. He was sure Kiba would have been all over her and even Shino would have taken notice. Actually, he really should see about reconnecting to his old classmates, especially considering that if someone became Chunin there was a chance of him being placed on that team even if it was only for the next exams.- to his desk.

He actually had to blink when he realized she was already at his desk , leaning over in an attempt to make her developing bust more prominent. He was aware of her moving, but his thoughts had him distracted enough that he couldn't really recall watching her on her way over. He really hoped he hadn't seemed too engrossed by her movements or that he was completely uninterested.

There was an acceptable balance he needed to have as host, even if she really wasn't anywhere near the league of some of the women he spent time with like Uzuki Yuugao, Mitarashi Anko, Uchiha Mikoto, and even Orochimaru herself; Kin was cute, like Mai, but both had a while to go before they could think to compete with those four.

Then again, Mai was likely to reach a very Mikoto-esque beauty in her own right, while he suspected Kin here would grow up to be a more plain attractive type, like Tatsuki had been. Ah, there was someone he had not thought of recently. He really needed to pay her grave a visit soon.

Even as he turned his attention back to Kin, some part of his mind noted that the thought of Tatsuki hadn't been nearly as painful as it once was. That was probably a good thing.

Glad to be in the position of power in this situation, he cut directly to the chase.

"What is it I can help you with, Tsuchi-San?" The slight downward twitch of her lips at the name he had decided to use for her and the way her finger had begun tracing shapes on his desk reminded him mightily of Orochimaru, who had done the same just a few hours earlier.

He wondered if she was aware of the similarities.

"Oh, Naruto-Sama, offering help so readily- You're very kind." She started. If she noted the way his eyebrow steadily rose as she spoke, she didn't mention it or let it distract her from her goal. "I'm sure you've had time to notice my other two teammates, Dosu and Zaku by now, yes?"

"I am familiar with them." His tone was dry enough that she had to have realized her approach was having little to no effect on him but she pushed forward regardless, either in hopes it might suddenly work or to avoid changing her approach part way through.

"Well, Dosu is a great teammate, we get along really well and I know he has my back." She paused to read his features. The pointedly polite, just-interested-enough-to-show-that-they-wanted-to-know-what-you were-actually-trying-to-say expression he wore was not encouraging in the slightest. "Zaku, on the other hand, is far too unreliable and, as you may have noticed, prone to actions that are both rash and idiotic. Poor traits for a Shinobi and a very bad thing for his teammates." She paused once more, looking for some sort of acknowledgement that he was really listening, which he gave easily enough.

"Go on."

"Well, Dosu and I discussed it, but we'd like to replace him on the team. The problem with that of course is that we have no one to replace him with."

"And?"

She swallowed her nervousness and continued to the actual request.

"You seem to have quite a few Wolves under your command, all very skilled, and we would be glad to have one on our team. In fact," She had slid around the right side of his desk, leaning into him with her developing bust and resting her right hand on his right thigh. "I know I would be very, _very_ grateful if you granted us one of your Wolves for our team through the next Chuunin exam." Before he could respond she pushed forward, intent on laying as much on the table as she could to entice him before he could even consider saying no.

"And if it's a matter of payment, well," She leaned forward, her lips grazing his ear as she whispered. "I'm sure we could work out a private arrangement between the two of us, even if negotiations might take several _long_ nights before we come to an agreement."

Alright, so maybe a little less Orochimaru and a bit more Anko, but there was no doubt in his mind that she, like the other two, was a snake.

He also had to admit she did reasonably well, he was sure she could have had any male gennin, and quite a few of the younger Chuunin, wrapped around her finger after that. Unfortunately for her, he was not one of them. Of course, that doesn't mean he was just going to say no. She obviously wanted something and was willing to do what she needed to get it. How much of a sacrifice it actually was- if it was one at all and not just an added bonus for her- he wouldn't be able to say and that was a good thing considering her profession. Orochimaru really should be proud of this one.

Well, if that pride wasn't overwhelmed by the anger she would probably feel to know one of her subordinates was coming onto her Crimson Prince for any reason. He couldn't say with absolute certainty, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't be pleased even if Kin was just trying to properly care for his needs, or whatever excuse would work best for the situation.

Now, if Naruto had approached Kin about any 'needs', he was reasonably confident that she would dislike it but let it slide. She seemed really possessive of him, he realized, and that wouldn't be good for Kin if she had actually succeeded at seducing him- and for one of his Wolves?

Having an angry Orochimaru after you was way overpaying for the services of a Wolf, especially if they were asking him for those services. As far as he was concerned, if they convinced a Wolf to join them and the Wolf requested the leave to do so it would be granted almost immediately.

And considering how much the Wolves liked to be of service, he was sure it would be anything but difficult to find one willing.

"While your offer is intriguing, Tsuchi-San," His voice was calm, showing absolute no effect from her efforts. "I doubt Orochimaru would be pleased to know about it." She stiffened immediately with a sharp breath, obviously having overlooked that rather crucial detail. "Still," He continued. "You have a point. I'm sure we could reach some sort of agreement to grant you the services of a Wolf for the next seven months."

How curious that she was now so nervous about him agreeing to find a way to get her what she wanted. The girl seemed terrified, though with good reason. Orochimaru was not one to be crossed normally and coming in between her and her Crimson Prince was the worst mistake one could make. Now, with him being agreeable to finding an arrangement she was stuck between risking Orochimaru's wrath for going through with it or risking her wrath for denying her godson something he was obviously interested in.

Not a good place for her to be in either case, and that didn't even take into account the fact that she was now completely at his mercy and she was painfully aware of it. Not that she hadn't been before, Orochimaru would have most likely allowed him to do with the Genin team as he pleased and even if she didn't just a single accusation from him at one of the Genin would have brought her wrath down upon them instantly.

In this instance however, the Oto Genin was more acutely aware of the power he held over her, and all because of a situation of her own making.

She was fortunate, then, that Naruto really didn't have anything against her and was amused at her attempt rather than upset. If he hadn't' spent so much time around Jounin and Sannin level Kunoichi, he was sure her attempts would have been at least mildly fruitful. Bad luck on her part, he supposed.

"Now then," He mused aloud. "What is it I might want from you?"

Her nervousness only increased and the poor girl was starting to tremble. His attempt to comfort her by pulling her gently into his lap did not seem to improve the situation any. In fact, he was pretty sure he had just made things worse.

He really wasn't good at dealing with regular people. He should probably work on that, you know, being a Daimyo and all.

"Let's see, you want one of my Wolves but I know for a fact that they're more skilled than you, so asking for seven months of service from you in exchange wouldn't be fair to me and I would just have to ask Orochimaru if I ever needed your services…." That seemed to work a bit, as he felt her relax ever so slightly. Either she was distracted by his verbal thinking or she believed him to be distracted. Either way, she wasn't trembling quite so much.

"I could charge you the standard rates, but I doubt you could afford them as a Genin. A payment plan is an option I suppose, but I know Otogakure really doesn't offer steady work so that's a bad idea." Strange as that was for a shinobi village, that's what happens when your first purpose is to provide for Orochimaru's plots.

"I don't really need a cook, and I'm not sure how well you can cook. The Wolves, for the most part, keep the apartment tidy, so I can't offer any work in that area. You can probably play an instrument of some kind, Orochimaru mentioned most of you are trained in at least one, but I don't have any desire for a personal musician." His eyes drifted down to his paperwork- well, Mai's paperwork, but it was all his in the end- and he recalled how hard the girl worked herself.

"Hmm. Tell me, Tsuchi-San, do you have any organizational skills?" Tsunami had been set up with an administrative job assisting Hana back in Nami no Kuni. Perhaps….

"Uh, no."

Damn.

"...I'll keep that option in mind anyway." He paused. "Then again, you're borrowing a Wolf until the next Chunin Exam, which, I would assume, you plan to take for the sake of being a Chunin. I need to find you something that would fit an Otogakure Chunin."

He didn't need assassins- the Wolves had that covered- and he wasn't delivering anything that needed to be escorted. VIP protection? Who might he assign them to? Oh, actually, that last one was perfect. While he had Wolves to do the same, he was sure she would probably appreciate someone closer to her age, especially if they were trying to keep her out of public view for a bit until everything blew over.

Her sister, though, could use another young woman to speak with, too, he supposed, Then again, she already had people outside the Wolves she could turn to. Yes, yes- this was perfect.

"Ah, here we go." He declared, Kin still sitting upon his lap but not looking as though she'd bolt at the slightest opportunity. Good, he was rather a fan of physical contact and she was the only other person in the room. "I should have a long-term protection detail that I could use you on. Seven months to pay back the services of the Wolf and then, if you succeed in becoming a Chunin, we can talk about hiring you officially through Otogakure on a more permanent basis."

Though he couldn't see it, she blinked in surprise. That was, well, unexpected. It seemed as though he had actually managed to come up with a suitable, professional, arrangement for them that was, from first glance, more than fair. A direct repayment of time with a proposal for a job opportunity? If this arrangement worked out, she'd get both a promotion and constant work at her new rank. That was, really, better than she could have hoped for. Assuming, of course, she wasn't too tempted to kill whoever it was she was supposed to be protecting. It was the only real downside she could see and the only thing that made her hesitate.

"And if the client doesn't care for me?" She inquired.

"Considering I'm the client, that's doubtful." Her face flamed red and she was immensely glad he wouldn't be able to see it. Either she would be protecting him, which meant spending a lot of time very close to him- seven weeks minimum and possibly as long as he needed protecting if she managed to make Chunin- or he was saying he cared for her, which was ridiculous- they hardly knew each other.

"Of course," he continued, breaking her out of her daydreaming. "The VIP I need you to watch may be a bit difficult to get along with. She'd used to a position of power, you see, being the heiress of a prominent clan here in Konoha. There may be some difficulty between you."

Her blush went from embarrassment of the situation to embarrassment of the conclusions she had jumped to. She couldn't dislodge the slight pang of disappointment, either.

"Luckily, we have on opportunity to make sure this arrangement will work." he continued on, as if completely oblivious to her plight. Admittedly, that was pretty likely considering he couldn't see her face. "We can call it a trial run, if you'd like, but I will need to make sure she's protected very soon and we may need to keep her away from the eye of the public, which is why I think you would do better than some of my Wolves."

"Really?" She hoped her voice hadn't squeaked too much.

"Yes. Like myself, the Wolves are not the best at...social interaction. She's used to having people to boss around and the behaviour of the rest of the guard I'll assign her should be fairly similar to what she's used to, minus being able to command them against my instructions, but I feel she may need protection that can provide her with better social interactions for the time she's away from the world. Having a young woman like yourself available to speak with should be good for her and I'm sure she'll be grateful, even if she never admits it even to herself."

"So I guard her for a bit soon and then you lend us the Wolf?"

"Yes. Then, after the next Chunin exams, you return to repay me with seven months of guarding the same VIP. After that, we'll discuss the possibility of a more permanent job doing the same."

"Sounds good to me." In fact, she was pretty sure that if either of them were getting a better deal out of this it was herself. "And if I don't get along well with your VIP?"

"I'll be speaking with her, so she should be accepting enough, but if there is a major issue stopping the two of you from working together we'll just have to find something else for you to do. I'd suggest thinking up alternative arrangements if things start looking too poorly during this trial run."

"Alright. In that case I do believe we have a deal, Naruto-Sama. Thank you very much for working with me on this."

"That we do, Tsuchi-San, and it was absolutely no trouble." Well, it was, a little, but being polite was important in most situations. He'd consider this good practice for non-formal, _non-hostile_ , negotiations.

An arrangement made, both fell into silence.

Naruto was perfectly fine with this, his left arm reaching out for the next paper from his desk and his right arm still wrapped around Kin's midsection as he held her on his lap.

Kin, on the other hand, was not so at ease with the situation she found herself in, her eyes darting to the door as if Orochimaru herself would walk in any second now. She did not, however, immediately voice anything.

A minute passed, then two. Papers moved across the dark grain of a heavy desk and a young woman squirmed restlessly in the lap of the Moon God.

"Um, Naruto-Sama?" She asked, terrified but embarrassedly pleased by the attention and physical contact at the same time.

"Hmm?" He didn't even pause to look at her.

"We're done negotiating, right?"

"Hm." He agreed.

"Then, uh, were you going to let me go?" He paused at that, turning to look at her questioningly as his right arm briefly pulled her more tightly to him, almost as if to confirm she was really being held there by him.

"Do I have to?"

"Um, no?" Well, not really. She was in no position to force him to do anything and her response was more question than statement.

"Hm." And like that he turned back to his papers, right arm still holding her to him, as if the matter had been suitably concluded. She supposed for him it had been.

With a small sigh, she was reminded of her powerlessness in the situation and decided to surrender to it, allowing herself to relax comfortably against him. There was still some nervousness and a fear of being caught by her Mistress, but she did enjoy the feeling of being held on his lap.

She'd just have to hope that if Orochimaru came through the door before she was able to get away that Naruto would protect her. A shiver ran down her spine- a pleasant one.

There was a thought. Kin Tsuchi, Otogakure Gennin, having to completely surrender herself and trust her well-being to the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni. It was new, the fear made it slightly exciting, and she was rarely as comfortable as she was now.

And, she supposed, if she had succeeded with her poorly considered plan earlier that thought could have been the plot for Jiraiya's next Icha-Icha book.

A new blush on her face, she purposefully pressed herself further into his chest, as if hoping to hide from her own thoughts, and enjoyed the way his body felt against hers.

Were anyone to call it snuggling, however, she would vehemently deny it.

* * *

 **See you all next...er...time?**


	61. Protective Custody

**In order to become a manager at work I've been switched to night shifts so time has lost all meaning to me, but I hope this chapter didn't take too long to get to you.**

 **Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his assistance.**

 **I have this nagging feeling that I've forgotten something important I wanted to mention, but can't seem to figure it out. Guess we'll just jump directly in.**

* * *

Mai was not at all pleased when she returned from a nice evening of good food and great company only to discover over half her paperwork missing. The thought that it might be vandals or thieves never crossed her mind considering her office was within the underground Wolf complex and that if someone had managed to get in she would have at least been notified of a break-in.

A quick skim through her pile of complete work quickly confirmed her theory. She'd recognize Naruto's handwriting anywhere and it made it quite obvious that he'd taken her work while she'd been out and had been sending it back in chunks as he finished it.

That stubborn fool was too considerate for his own good and was going to be the death of her - and plenty of the Wolves - some day.

They were trying to reduce his workload, for gods' sake, and here he was taking on as much as he could anyway.

A fond smile briefly tugged at her lips but she quickly reigned it in using her frustration at his - admittedly sweet - action. A tug of guilt helped there, too, as she recalled a brief period in which she shunted some of her own work over to him to free up more time for herself.

Now that had really come back to bite her in the ass.

With him believing there was more work to be done he could never be satisfied with his own workload and wouldn't rest until he was certain everything had been taken care of. Which, naturally, meant Mai was doing more work trying to keep him from working himself too much than her own work, which didn't help any.

Because if her work wasn't done and he noticed how busy she was helping him than he would, without hesitation, take her remaining work upon himself.

 _'Uhg, I knew I should have finished that before spending time with Tsume.'_

Admittedly, there was a lot of work to be done ever since they took over Nami no Kuni and Hana could only get so much done without consulting them first, but that didn't mean it all had to be done immediately. Nami no Kuni had been a mess for years and it would probably take them a good year or two for everything to be operating smoothly again.

She was not, however, prepared to wait that long for the workload to dwindle down so Naruto would stop focusing all of his time and energy on it.

It was, after all, her job to worry about things like that.

His role was to let her know what he wanted done and to be a symbol for his children.

Their children.

A dusting of red spread over her cheeks at the thought but was quickly forced down by will alone. She'd have time to have thoughts like that later. At the moment, she had a Moon God to scold.

 _'He is so lucky I can't banish him to the couch.'_

Not only did they not share a bed permanently and ignoring the facts that his apartment now had quite a few beds and that he was her superior, but even were she to try she would never be able to do that to him. The closest she would be able to achieve would be banishing him to the couch only to end up sharing it with him either in his arms or with his head in her lap.

She really did care a lot for the red-headed young man who had given her and her 'siblings' purpose once more, and that's exactly why he was going to be getting a piece of her mind.

* * *

She stood just before his desk, one hand on her cocked hip and her foot tapping impatiently, waiting for him to speak. She had yet to say anything, but he had a pretty good idea what this was about.

The glare pretty much gave it away- she only used that particular glare when she thought he was working too much - so this must be about the work hew had done for her. Well, stolen from her, completed, and given back.

Most of it, anyway. There was a finished stack near him he had yet to send back and a few more pieces of paper before him he hadn't quite finished before she had stormed into his office and begun trying to set him alight with her gaze alone.

Still, he was fairly confident there wasn't anything she could really do to him. Well, there probably was and he knew he would regret even entertaining the thought otherwise, but he couldn't think of anything. Was she going to do less work and make him do it from now on? That would defeat the purpose of the 'punishment' and he would be happy to do what he could to lessen her workload.

….She wouldn't take more work, would she?

That thought, strangely enough, made him rather uncomfortable. Not because he didn't like the idea of the Wolves being out of his hands- for he gave Mai and Sai pretty much full reign over them and suspected, with his other projects, that the Wolves really wouldn't be his for much longer- but because he was of the opinion she worked too hard.

Sai had been wise enough not to mention that they were both trying to accomplish the same thing in the end when he first noticed it. Naruto was his lord and his sister was scary when angered normally; adding Naruto's well-being to the mix was sure to see him taking another tour of Nami no Kuni's temporary medical facility.

He really wasn't keen on that, thank you.

Despite not saying anything, both had come to the same realization on their own but were undeterred in their efforts to help each other.

Of course that could only last so long, which brings us back to Naruto's office.

"Well?" She asked, one brow raising expectantly.

He raised his own brow to match, less expecting and more inquiring, as if he had no idea why she was here or why she might be frustrated with him.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at that, but his questioning "Hmm?" had her scowling. Well, it was almost a scowl.

There was a poutiness to it that took away from it's effectiveness in intimidation but it remained quite persuasive.

"You stole my paperwork."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Naruto..."

"Yes, Mai?"

"I've told you before, if there isn't anymore work on your desk you've finished it all." She continued before he could get in a response. "How am I supposed to do my part if you do everything?"

She was obviously waiting for a response to her question, but his comment was directed to her first statement.

With a negligent wave of his left hand to the entirety of the desk he smirked ever so slightly, almost to the point where most would think it was their imagination. Mai, however, knew him well enough to see it. "Well, I seem to have papers on my desk still. Looks like I haven't quite finished my work for the day."

She blinked once, then twice, in surprise at his sheer audacity before the glare was back.

"So," He continued, not pausing in his work. "How was your day with Tsume?"

"You're not changing the subject that easily."

"Really?"

She thought about it for a moment. Was she really going to accomplish anything by this? He was obviously going to keep doing it. Hell, he was still doing it even as she was standing there trying to get him to knock it off.

"Che, fine." She agreed to end the argument as she slipped into the chair before his desk. "But after we stop the invasion you're finding administrative staff to do most of your work."

When it looked like he was about to object she was quick to add more.

"Alright, for the both of us."

As he was only really objecting because she would still have her own workload his objection was fully retracted.

"Sure, but I won't be following any sort of deadline. When I find those I've determined suitable I'll offer them the position."

"Fair enough." They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, only interrupted by the scratching of his pen as he finished her paperwork.

"Did you really want to hear about my day with Tsume?" She eventually asked.

He looked away from the papers and directly into her eyes, giving her a small smile and his full attention. "Of course, Mai. How did it go?"

Eventually, as Mai spoke about her day, he managed to finish his paperwork. As he sent it back off to Mai's office, despite her sitting right there, she was careful to note who it was that had been aiding him in increasing his workload. She may not have been able to give Naruto a proper scolding, but she'd be damned if she let the Wolves get away with enabling him.

Most of the Wolves in Konoha felt a shiver of dread run down their spines, and it had nothing to do with the upcoming invasion.

* * *

Hanabi paid no attention to the bustle of civilians around her as she was escorted by her cousin to the academy for a mandatory viewing of the Chuunin exams.

The Hokage had decided, Iruka had told the class, that they should have a chance to see the skills of Chuunin hopefuls, especially when quite a few teams from a recently gradated class had been present. By having them all meet at the academy where a screen would be receiving live feed from the stadium it ensured they all received seats and that Iruka could point out things they might have otherwise missed during matches.

What Iruka didn't know but Hanabi did was that the idea had been proposed by Naruto and he was making use of it to get her out of the compound without arousing too much suspicion before the branch family staged their revolt.

What neither of them knew was that forces from Suna were going to be attempting an invasion in hopes of eliminating competition and boosting their own prestige. If Naruto had his way, however, they wouldn't need to worry about that.

Hanabi and her escort took a left turn away from the majority of the crowd and with each step the number of people around seemed to diminish. For safety reasons the academy was slightly away from the main roads though remained close enough to avoid being too inconvenient to both Shinobi and civilian alike.

By the time they were a single street away- the turn to the entrance within sight- there wasn't anyone around them. Neji had suggested she leave latter as to avoid the inevitable rush to get seats that began a few hours earlier and she had headed his advice. She was sure that Naruto wouldn't be too thrown off by her late exiting of the compound and might actually appreciate the lack of people around.

Of course, if he was thrown off she had probably picked the wrong person to seek protection from.

She spared a glance at her escort, a single branch member who looked more than a little disinterested in his assigned task. Not that the average Konoha citizen would be able to tell. Any outsider would see a Hyuuga vigilantly guarding the heiress of his clan. Having the ability to see almost everywhere around them for most of their life, however, meant that any Hyuuga would be able to tell the difference between actually paying attention and pretending, as this branch member was doing.

Still, she really couldn't blame him completely, regardless of how insulting she felt it was for her guard to put in a minimal amount of effort. They were considered to be the clan with the single most manpower of the entire village and had enough money and influence that they could get away with just about anything. You know, like enslaving the majority of their clan members.

Who would try anything against them in the heart of Konoha?

The Wolves for one.

Beyond them, she couldn't really think of anyone specific. Orochimaru, maybe? Rumor had it he was more interested in the Sharingan for the ability to copy techniques but it was possible he might be interested enough in the Byakugan to go after one of the Hyuuga. Still, it was unlikely and her guard reflected that. Admittedly the branch member guarding her had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Soon enough the main family would be overthrown- or at least placed into such a horrible situation that the entire clan might as well be considered extinct - and it wouldn't matter if he had failed to protect her. She frowned slightly at the thought. That wasn't' quite right, as the Wolves - specifically Naruto, whatever his relationship with the group might be- seemed to have plans - or at least uses- for her. Knowing that the Wolves were allied with the branch members and putting her money on the Wolves being dominant in that relationship, she was sure there would be repercussions for both the branch family and more specifically the guard who failed in their duty but that wouldn't mean much if he did indeed fail.

That, of course, brought her back to the thought that there were few who might try something - that she could think of, at least- the Wolves being one of them, so the guard before her was probably supremely confident that absolutely everything was going to be just fine.

And it probably would be for him.

Briefly she wished she could do something to teach him that guarding her was serious business and should be treated as such but thought better of it. He was, she knew, going to be the future of the Hyuuga clan in a way.

That was actually a rather depressing thought.

It was most fortuitous that she didn't have to dwell upon that thought for long, as before they reached the academy two Wolves made their appearance. Idly, she noticed both the fact that they wore the same cloaks some of the ANBUS favored -which meant you had to be facing them to know they weren't ANBU- and that her guard jumped slightly in surprise at their arrival.

She smiled lightly at that. It wasn't nearly enough to punish him for not giving proper care to her protection but she'd take what she could get at the moment.

"Hyuuga-San." They addressed her startled guard before turning to her and giving a shallow inclining of the head. "Hanabi-Sama."

If she said she wasn't taking some pleasure from the fact that despite being allied with the branch family they showed her more respect than they did one of their members she'd be lying.

"We'll be your escort from here." They continued, turning back to the branch member and giving a dismissive flick of their wrist. "Your presence is no longer necessary, Hyuuga-San."

The man looked, momentarily, as if he might object to the dismissal but eventually thought better of it as the second Wolf gave a low growl.

She thought it was appropriate, really, that even dogs were of higher standing than the branch members who were planning to take over the Hyuuga clan.

The Wolves were certainly looking as if they had been the proper choice.

"Then I leave her in your capable hands." Hanabi was fairly sure the branch member was hoping the Wolves had some horrible plan for her and was happy to be rid of her and the only reason they had considered objecting was the lack of respect they had been shown.

Well, that and the chances that someone might find out they had lost the Hyuuga heiress before the coup.

That would not end well for them.

The branch member gave her a swift, shallow bow for appearance's sake before turning on his heal and storming off. It had never really occurred to her before now, but the Hyuuga pride seemed kind of pathetic in the grand scheme of things. Even in a situation that favored him, the branch member had been upset that someone hadn't been shown the proper respect.

He was practically a slave, for fuck's sake, what was he really expecting?

What had the Hyuuga clan and Konoha itself lead him to believe?

Maybe the clan really was in desperate need of a change after all. This might be good for it. Not for her, of course, but her duty as the heiress- though she suspected that wouldn't be long remaining- was to the good of the clan before anything else.

Dismissing the thought for now, she looked at the lead Wolf- or that's what she'd assume they were seeing as the other had yet to speak a word- expectantly, knowing only that Naruto was arranging for her to be spirited away somewhere safe for the foreseeable future.

Seeing the look, the Wolf gave her a brief overview. So brief, in fact, it was very nearly on par with the useful information in Kakashi's reports.

"Our orders are to get you to the safe-house where we'll await the eventual arrival of Hyuuga Neji and lock it down. We suspect he will not adapt well enough for the clan."

That was a fair point, actually, and it would be nice not to loose one of her most useful slaves.

A lapdog, indeed.

"I understand." Not completely, she was sure there was more to it than that but if that's all they felt necessary to share than she really wasn't about to question her new protectors. She also didn't know exactly where Naruto actually stood with this group beyond, obviously, in their favor. Still, she would show difference but only to the one she had gone to for aid. Whether or not his plans lined up with the agenda of the Wolves wasn't any of her concern. "Naruto's will be done."

The intention had been, simply, to remind them that her deal was with Naruto and that they, the Wolves, had no control over her beyond what he had asked them to do.

From the way she could practically feel the pleased grins under their masks, however, it would seem like she had also managed to impress the Wolves before her.

Two sharp Konoha salutes were snapped off in unison.

"Naruto's will be done."

* * *

As the stadium filled with excited spectators Hana was quite glad the seats of the Daimyo were nice and isolated. Not only did it increase security and lessen the chances of someone discovering that she was back but it gave some respite from the noise that otherwise would have been absolute hell on her sensitive hearing.

She had questioned her mother as to why most of the clan didn't attend such a large event held in Konoha every three years or so and now she understood. Despite that, she was sure her brother was out in the crowd somewhere, just as rambunctious and energetic as the rest of the crowd.

He always had been a loud one and to be honest his hearing wasn't all that better than an average persons, but his sense of smell and direction were among the best of the clan. Despite what a lot of his classmates joked about in the academy and how wild he acted, he was probably the cleanest of them all simply because he couldn't stand his own smell unless he had washed at least thrice every day.

It had never been a hassle to get him to bathe which, she supposed, had been fortunate for her and her mother.

Still, it was odd to think that he was out there with friends, laughing and joking as he prepared to support his comrades through the upcoming matches.

He knew absolutely nothing about the invasion Suna had planned and hadn't the slightest idea that his sister, who was supposedly off on clan business, currently sat among the various nobles who had come to be wowed by the newest Shinobi looking to advance in rank.

She didn't know if she should be thankful he didn't have to worry about that or concerned that he might be caught unaware later. Regardless, she'd have to place her faith in Tsukiyomi's plan. Hopefully they'd be able to crush the invasion attempt before Suna could do more than reveal themselves as the backstabbing shits they were planning on being today.

Well, not all of them, from what she understood. Apparently Tsukiyomi himself had managed to make contact with some Suna Shinobi who didn't want to take part in the invasion including the trump card they were counting on as the backbone of the assault.

She hadn't been informed why a single Shinobi was what they had placed most of their hope upon for the invasion, especially when, from the sound of it, he was one of the Gennin competitors, but on the other had she didn't think she actually wanted to know.

People like that were usually not the pleasant sort.

Having them on your side, though, was typically a good thing.

And, speaking of her sides, she took a quick glance to her right where Tsukiyomi lounged in a manner between regal and lazy. He seemed so at ease she had to wonder if things had been going really well for him since she saw him off back in Nami no Kuni or if he was just acting like this to help place everyone else around him at ease.

Her experience at the feast had her suspecting it was the former but instinct screamed the latter.

Either way, his relaxed position had the Wolves around the box giving extra care to their diligent guard which was actually making some of the other nobles rather nervous. The Daimyo of Hi no Kuni just seemed to be amused by their discomfort if the small grin and occasional glances to the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni were anything to go by.

They would be more appreciative when Suna turned on them. Speaking of which, the Daimyo of Kaze no Kuni was sat directly next to the Fire Daimyo and both were surrounded by Wolves. How Tsukiyomi had convinced his ally to allow that she didn't know but it was a good move on his part. His ally would be protected, the Wind Daimyo would be safe and, more importantly, in his debt, and if absolutely everything went to shit he could take them both hostage.

She had to wonder if her time with the Wolves wasn't making her just a little bit more ruthless. She'd never have entertained such thoughts before. Then again, she had never pictured herself leading a country either.

From what little time she had with her mother earlier, it was apparently doing her good and she had to agree. She had never felt more mature and focused before she had the weight of a country's hope upon her back. The burden had set her free. She was sure that if anyone understood that it was probably the man beside her.

Again she took a quick look at him from behind the veil that hid her face. She wasn't too fond of it but understood the need for secrecy. He was in his usual attire of dark clothes, black cloak, and a scarf wrapped around his face to hide it from view. There had been some debate between Mai and Tsukiyomi about what he would be wearing but the need to keep his identity under wraps had severely limited his options.

There had also been something about how appropriate it would be for him to wear a Wolf mask but for reasons beyond her privileged it had been decided against.

Some part of her, despite feeling that he should be displaying the same face as the pack he was part of, thought it was appropriate. Not that she could say much considering she wasn't wearing the mask either. Despite the merging- admittedly loosely at that- of the packs she wasn't officially a Wolf and she knew that for the sake of image she wouldn't have been able to wear the mask to this even if she was.

Whether it was to make it clear that she was "above them" in station or so that it appeared the Governor wasn't actually a Wolf she wouldn't be able to say.

A sudden quieting of the crowd was more noticeable than the earlier excitement and drew her eyes to the center of the stadium where nine competitors stood ready for their matches. Tsukiyomi seemed to lean forward slightly despite his sprawled position in his seat and the various nobles around them focused their earlier conversations onto the spectacle they had been looking forward to all morning.

Lee and Neji of Team Three faced each other to the gaze of hundreds of eager watchers as the rest left to await their own opportunities on a private viewing balcony. With a wave of the proctor's hand the last round of the Chuunin exams had officially started but Hana couldn't shake the question of how soon they would be coming to an early end.

She hopped the question wasn't answered too soon.

* * *

Fate's barbed whip, he hurt.

Not just in his pride, which was sure to be swollen and tender after the beating he had just received, but throughout his entire body. He had always dismissed Lee's Taijutsu simply because it wasn't the Juuken but he'd never be making that mistake again.

And oh, the speed!

He had watched Gennin Naruto as he sparred with the heiress but thought nothing of it. The heiress was young and inexperienced to say nothing of how privileged they were to be a member of the Main House. Only the Branch family ever worked and he was the hardest working of them all.

But, maybe, he had been wrong.

Lee was, even if it was mostly self-proclaimed, a Genius of Hard Work. The sheer speed and strength behind each strike was astonishing.

He had been torn apart like rice-paper.

Even better, that was before the gates had been opened or the leg weights had even come off.

What hurt his pride even more, however, was the fact that Lee had actually seemed disappointed by his performance- or lack thereof- as if he had been expecting more from the Genius of the Hyuuga Clan.

Neji supposed that he probably had been.

Fate he must have been a pathetic sight as Lee avoided each attack as easily as breathing only to get into his guard and deliver crushing attacks that the Hyuuga simply hadn't been equipped to deal with.

Even the mighty Kaiten meant nothing when Lee could move faster than he could spin.

So much for an ultimate defense, even someone unable to use Chakra could get around it.

A groan- half disappointment and half pain- left his mouth as he attempted to adjust his position on the infirmary bed to something more comfortable. He didn't even want to consider how vulnerable he was or how the Main family was going to respond to his utter failure. As if they didn't hate him enough for being better than them, now he had embarrassed the clan before a good portion of Konoha and quite a few local nobles.

"Hyuuga Neji." The voice broke him from his thoughts and he found himself looking up into the mask if a Wolf.

He paused for a moment before cursing internally. He had heard of them when they became a noble house but he had also seen them in the presence of Hinata acting as guards.

That was probably not a good thing for him, especially considering an academy student could overpower him at the moment.

"Yes?" He managed. His memory was a bit fuzzy, but he was pretty sure Lee hit him in the throat earlier. It would explain the nasty bruise that covered it and he could only be thankful Lee hadn't struck harder. His bones, the ones he was sure were broken, told him that Lee could have easily crushed his throat in an instant. The fight could have been over as soon as it began.

He wasn't sure if that would have been better for him in the end.

"For your safety you are to be moved to a more secure location. Remain calm or we have been authorized to subdue you." the Wolf paused for a second before adding. "For your own good, of course."

Ah, he was being kidnapped then. Hmm, wait. This was more of an abduction, wasn't it? Or, if he was being used against someone he supposed it was simply a hostage situation.

Not that he suspected he was worth much to the clan after his recent performance.

"Where are we going?" He didn't expect them to actually tell him and he was right. Two of the Wolves snickered while he was sure the third was scowling at him from behind their mask.

"Don't worry about it, kid. You're safe now."

As a black cloth was wrapped around his eyes and his wrists were lashed together he really, really doubted that.

* * *

 **And with this the third exam has finally started. Gods above, this has taken forever.**


End file.
